The women’s junior road race at the Road World Championships started out as a survival situation in the rain, but ended in a three-person sprint. Cat Ferguson (Great Britain), who won the Individual TT two days ago, won the Arcenciel, her second in the same category.
Netherlands with 5 people including Megan Ahrendts photo: CorVos
The 2024 Road World Championship is currently being held in Zurich, Switzerland, and the women’s junior road race was held on Thursday, September 26th. The course is 73.6km, covering two circuits overlooking Lake Greifen and Lake Zurich. 120 athletes competed in the race, which had a difference in elevation of 972m as they had to overcome two hills along the way.
The weather on this day was rainy. Amid bad conditions with temperatures as low as 14 degrees Celsius, a group of five racers formed 16km from the start. Britain, France, and Poland each sent one person, and Italy sent Eleonora Labella and Sylvia Meresi.
However, this group was unable to hold the lead for long and was absorbed into the main group with 46km remaining. The number of people in the group was narrowed down to the pace set by the Dutch, and there were scenes where cars fell off while climbing the gentle slopes. As a result, the lead was narrowed down to eight riders, including Cat Ferguson (Great Britain), who won the individual time trial.
The race was narrowed down to the first seven riders due to repeated attacks. Photo: CorVos
With the leading group rotating smoothly, Ferguson made a move on the downhill with 39km remaining. However, he was unable to pull away from the pack behind him, and once his pace had settled down, Ferguson’s teammate Imorgan Wolff (Great Britain) joined him. After recovering his legs as a group, Wolff attacked with 22km to go to inflict damage on his rival.
This move was not decided, and Megan Ahrendts (Netherlands) made a counter move. After that, the leading group continued to attack, and with 20km remaining, the field was narrowed down to three riders, including Ferguson.
With 20km remaining, Cat Ferguson (UK) and three others were in the lead photo: UCI
Along with Ferguson, who is aiming for a double crown with the individual TT that he won two days ago, the leading group was formed by Paula Ostis (Spain), who will join Movistar in 2025. Also, Viktoria Kladnova (Slovakia), who is set to make her professional debut next year at Wisma Liesabike, also held on, and the three racers entered the final straight with a check. As heavy rain continued to fall on the competitors, Ostis began his sprint first with 100 meters remaining.
Ferguson reacts to the move, and Kladnova steps in as well. However, Ferguson outperformed him in the sprint, and the 18-year-old from England finished with his index finger raised to the sky.
Cat Ferguson (UK) pulling away from her successor in the sprint photo: UCI
Cat Ferguson (UK) overcomes the disappointment of finishing second last year and wins a double title with the Individual TT photo: UCI
“It’s a heavenly feeling. I was disappointed in finishing second last year, so I really wanted to win the road race. Winning the gold medal was really amazing. I like TT bikes, and road racing is a different race. I can’t believe it. I’m even happier than I was on Tuesday (individual TT), when I couldn’t have been happier,” said Ferguson, who was delighted with his double win in the individual TT.
Ferguson is an 18-year-old who came close to second place in the women’s junior category at the Cyclocross World Championships held in February of this year. In addition, at the world track championships this year, he won the junior world championship in both the team pursuit and omnium, and is an athlete with great promise in the future as he excels in all three sports. He has also been running for Movistar as a trainee since August of this year, and has a contract with the team until 2027.
Road World Championship 2024 Women’s Junior Road Race Podium: 2nd place Paula Ostis (Spain), 1st place Cat Ferguson (Great Britain), 3rd place Viktoria Kladnova (Slovakia) photo: UCI
In the sprint for second place, Ostis finished first after defeating Kladnova. Ahrendts, who started the race from the middle, ended up in 4th place, 9 seconds behind, a disappointing result.
