The Elite Women’s Road Race at the UEC 2017 European Road Cycling Championships was won by Marianne Vos of the Netherlands with double World Road Champion Giorgia Bronzini of Italy in second place and Russian Olga Zabelinskaya rounded off the podium winning bronze.
Ireland’s sole entrant, Lydia Boylan, had an attacking ride and managed to hang to the bunch, finishing 38th in the 120-6-kilometre race in Herning, Denmark.
The Team WNT Pro-cycling rider rode aggressively in a fast race, with an impressive attack at the halfway mark. However, the Dutch riders at the front of the peloton ensured that she was brought back.
After the race, the Dubliner was pleased with her performance, highlighting the dominance of the nine-person Dutch team: “I wanted to be active in the race, while also conserving energy – knowing that it was likely to come to a bunch sprint. It was an interesting race – and hard when you are up against nine Dutch riders, who are all potential winners! That was a prestigious bunch to be competing in, and I was happy to get attention for the Irish jersey with my attack. But it was a fast championship race, and everyone was fighting for the front.”
“I didn’t want to be anonymous in the race, and I didn’t want to roll around at the back. I’m used to racing on my team, where the other girls are looking out for me, so I had to make sure as well not to burn my matches.”
