Austria’s Laura Stigger delighted the local crowd in Innsbruck-Tirol as she claimed the Road Race world title for Junior Women in her native town less than three weeks after taking the Rainbow Jersey for Cross Country mountain biking, which has been her speciality so far.
Stigger attacked uphill and outsprinted her three breakaway companions with France’s Marie Le Net and Canada’s Simone Boilard crossing the line in second and third places respectively.
In the press conference, the winner Laura Stigger said: “My plan was to have fun riding in my hometown. I live only 15 kilometres away from here. This win was unexpected. It’s incredible. I thought I’d give my best but that’s all. Before the sprint, I had in the back of my brain that number 4 means no medal, but I got the gold medal and it’s crazy.
“My focus was on mountain biking all year. After I won the world title [in Switzerland], I got some input from Tommy [Rohregger, former Austrian WorldTour cyclist] to prepare for the Road Race. I have ridden the course but not that often. The last climb was my favorite. I don’t know yet what my future will be. Next week I’ll go to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the Youth Olympics, then I’ll decide which way I’ll go in my cycling career. My big goal will be Tokyo 2020 but it’s too early to figure out which race I’ll go for.”
WOMEN JUNIOR ROAD RACE PODIUM
1 – Laura Stigger – 70.8km in 1h56’26”, average speed 36.484km/h
2 – Marie Le Net s.t.
3 – Simone Boilard s.t.
