The women’s road race is likely to be as exciting as the men’s and with the same course minus a few laps of Box Hill and riders with just as much passion to win, it will definitely be a race to watch.
The 140km route includes 2 laps of Box Hill, a Zig Zag road that is 2.5kms long with 133 metres of vertical gain and an average gradient of 5.3%. This doesn’t sound all that challenging to most cyclists, but when you consider the average pace will likely be around 25 miles per hour and there is more than just Box Hill for the riders to worry about, it won’t be an easy feet either.
The first challenge comes at 53km into the race with a cat 3 climb; this may just have enough sting in the tail for it to spread out the riders, especially being on a narrow road. This may also be a good spot for a full team like GB, Italy, or the USA to increase their pace, testing the legs of their fellow riders and possibly dropping a few before they even reach the Box Hill circuit.
With 23 countries only qualifying with one rider in the Road race, team tactics may not be a main player. Although generally those teams that have 3 or 4 riders in will likely stand more of a chance to win. It could just end up that one of the lone riders isn’t scared to take on the competition and surprises us all on the day.
Race begins a 12:00 BST on Sunday 29th of July.
