Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Giorgia Bronzini sprinted to second place in today’s Sparkassen Giro, in Bochum, Germany, as the Women’s World Cup returned to the country for the first time in five years. The former two-time road World Champion – celebrating her 31st birthday during the race – was beaten to the line by current rainbow jersey Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv) as the mostly flat race finished in the expected bunch sprint.
The peloton was reduced to just 25 riders by the time the sprinters fought out the result, however, with Finnish champion Lotta Lepistö (Bigla) taking third.
“I’m very happy with my second place,” Bronzini said. “It would have been nice to win, especially on my birthday, but…
“I felt strong today,” she added. “I’ve just had a really good week of power training so I didn’t expect to feel so good…”
Much of the work to reduce the peloton had been carried out by the strong presence of Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling riders at the head of the peloton. The bunch was further whittled down on the final of eight 15.5km laps as Japanese champion Mayuko Hagiwara managed to escape the peloton and force a chase.
“It was a nice race. It was fast, with one straight going up the climb and the other going down,” Bronzini explained. “The part of the lap that was going up was hard in some laps because there was a ‘forcing’ by some of the teams. But I tried to reserve some power for the sprint, and tried to pedal easy in these efforts.
“I took Vos’ wheel in the last kilometres, and she led into the first corner,” the Italian continued. “It was a kind of crazy corner, of about 90 degrees, so it was hard and she never used her brakes! If I was crazy I would have followed her, but a few years ago I broke my shoulder so…”
Riding their home World Cup race, Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s two German riders, Charlotte Becker and Anna-Bianca Schnitzmeier were an almost constant presence at the front of the race. Hagiwara’s attack then forced the other sprinters’ teams to work in the closing stages.
“The team worked really well today,” said Bronzini. “The girls were on the front all the time and they really worked well so I’m happy.”
Sadly for Bronzini, another birthday on the road means a slight delay to festivities as she travels back home to Italy.
“I will be at the airport!” she laughed. “I will do something tomorrow with my friends.”
Meanwhile, as half of Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s riders were in Germany, the other half were racing the Commonwealth Games road race in Glasgow, Scotland. Riding in the all-black colours of New Zealand, Linda Villumsen – who took the Gold Medal in Thursday’s Individual Time Trial – made the decisive break that came late in the 98.1km race, but was unable to stop England’s Lizzie Armitstead from succeeding Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s team owner and manager Rochelle Gilmore as champion.
Result Sparkassen Giro
1. Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv)
2. Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling)
3. Lotta Lepistö (Bigla)
