Vollering wins world road race title after gruelling Montreal sprint
Tour de France Femmes champion Demi Vollering held off Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma to claim the women's UCI world road race title in the longest edition of the event to date.
Demi Vollering added the world road race title to her Tour de France Femmes crown after out-sprinting Kasia Niewiadoma in a dramatic finish to the longest-ever women's UCI world championship road race in Montreal.
The Dutch rider timed her effort perfectly in the closing metres, getting the better of the Polish rider after a race that had been shaped by repeated climbing over the demanding Montreal circuit, according to Guardian Sport.
Reporting on the race described it as enthralling and attritional, with the biggest names in the women's peloton going head to head across multiple ascents before the finale was decided in a sprint.
Vollering's victory in Canada follows her Tour de France Femmes success, adding a world title to a season that has already established her as one of the sport's dominant figures.
Niewiadoma, among the sport's most consistent performers in recent seasons, was again in the mix at the sharp end of a major one-day race, though she had to settle for second behind the Dutch rider on this occasion.
The scale of the contest, run over the longest distance yet set for the women's world championship road race, tested the peloton's climbers and sprinters alike before Vollering emerged with the rainbow jersey.
Attention in the women's peloton now turns to how the title-winning form carries into the remainder of the season, with Vollering's Montreal triumph following directly on from her Tour de France Femmes success this year.