Alex Manly was ultimately the top finisher for the Australian team in 15th, but that belied an attacking performance that aimed to put the squad in with a shot at taking the victory.
In the final few laps of the 17km Wollongong city circuit, Sarah Roy, Amanda Spratt and Brodie Chapman all attempted to get clear, with Roy the most successful as she jumped out to a solo lead and held a gap of 10 seconds for 10 kilometres until she was caught by a determined chase by the Italian team with 25 kilometres remaining.
During that time, Manly was saving herself for the finale, the Australian proving her ability over the course of the season as a top sprinter in tough conditions. The race split apart without an Australian present on the second last climb, and although Manly would return thanks to the chase of Amanda Spratt and Brodie Chapman, it was the same case on the final climb, with Chapman and Manly chasing in the third group on the road, not quite able to catch up to contest the victory.
A dramatic finish in the final kilometre saw a late attack from Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) seize the moment, and take the win ahead of the sprint behind. Alex Manly was second in the sprint from the next group just 13 seconds behind the winner, only Marianne Vos (Netherlands) was quicker to the line from that group to put Manly in 15th.
“I’m not really disappointed as it was a great ride by the girls and it was the best I could do and we could do on the day,” said Manly. “We were so close to bringing back the group and having a reduced bunch sprint, which is what I wanted for the day but we did the best we could.
“We had a couple of open race plans, but for me it was to try and conserve and sit in if it came to a bunch sprint. It didn’t play out that way, it was a race of attrition and it was just who was there in those last two laps, which were really hard.”
The whole team was appreciative of the rest of the squad’s efforts, all praising each other for their rides during the race and the strong performance to give themselves the best chance of taking the victory.
“We did try to play it aggressive,” said Chapman, “you never know if they’ll let a group get off the front, but there were a few teams with numbers.
“I did try to chase it back in the last lap with Ellen van Dijk and we were closing in there but we never got there, they got a sense that they could go for a good position. We can be really proud of how we raced, it wasn’t the result we wanted but we put our best foot forward.”
A pre-race favourite for many was the silver medallist from the time trial, Grace Brown, but the Australian star ‘didn’t have the day she hoped’ on the road, falling off the pace on the third last lap.
“The race panned out opposite to what we expected,” said Brown. “We were all ready for something to happen on Mt Keira, but the race went up there at a really easy pace. We hoped that it would have whittled down each lap, but it sort of stayed as a really big group, then became a really small group.
“There was a big group for a long time and it didn’t kick off until the last few. We tried to put our best foot forward, but we were a bit of the back foot there. Personally, I didn’t have the day I hoped, but the rest of the girls rode super strong.”
Roy was the most prominent of the Australians during the race with her attack, emptying herself to stay away until the base of the penultimate attempt of the climb of Dumfries Avenue where she was overhauled.
“We had some attacks and just set each other up,” said Roy, “world championships are always really tough races, I know myself I was cramping and a little bit spewy. I gave it everything I could, and I know the others would have as well.
“Once I was caught, I was completely out the hoop, riding as slow as I could and just enjoying the crowds.”
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