France's Celia Gery makes history, winning the standalone edition of the women's U23 road race in Kigali ahead of Viktoria Chladonova in a thrilling finale. Third place went to Spain's Paul Blasi, who outsprinted Marion Bunel, who supported Gery on the final climb of the Cote de Kimihurura.
Canadian favourite Isabella Holmgren was among the strongest riders all day, but couldn't match the French assault on the final climb. She finished sixth, with Imogene Wolff of Britain in 12th place.
"It's unbelievable. It's been a long time coming, but it's great. There were only three of us on the team, but we managed to race perfectly, we had three very strong girls. I knew there were still a few other girls behind who were dangerous in the sprint, so I wanted to stay with Chladonva. I wasn't too, too confident coming here, but I did have confidence in my team."
-Celia Gery
Women's U23 road race results
1. Celia Géry (Fra) in 3:24:26
2. Viktória Chladoňová (Slo), +2s
3. Paula Blasi (Spa), +12s
4. Eleonora Ciabocco (Ita)
5. Marion Bunel (Fra), all a same time
6. Isabella Holmgren (Can), +17
7. Ilena Ivanchenko (INA), +20s
8. Lore De Schepper (Bel), +25s
9. Talia Appleton (Aus), +31s
10. Linda Riedmann (Ger), +54s
Comments