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Italian Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-Honda) sprinted to her first World Cup win of the season at the Tour of Chongming Island in China on Sunday.
With an impressive turn of speed, Bronzini, 31, dispatched Hitec Products’ Kirsten Wild at the end of the 125-kilometer race. France’s Fanny Riberot collected the third and final spot on the podium.
“We were together for the lead-out for Chloe [Hosking], but there was some chaos before the last corner that divided us, so I remained with Nettie [Edmondson] in my wheel,” Bronzini said. “At 700 meters to go, the best thing was [to] go out in the right side to pull for a sprint, but I had no space so I decided to wait.
“At 300 meters to go, I checked behind me and also Nettie wasn’t in my draft, so I decided to defend my position and keep [Kirsten] Wild’s wheel. Fortunately for me, there was a strong headwind and she had to take a long sprint, so I could come out the last moment.”
The Chongming tour is the halfway mark of the UCI women’s World Cup — the fifth of 10 races. Rabo-Liv’s Anna van der Breggen leads the series after winning round four, Flèche Wallonne, and finishing third at both Ronde van Vlaanderen and Trofeo Alfredo Binda. On June 7, the World Cup will travel to the U.S. for the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic.