Italy's Bastianelli ends Dutch dominance to win women's road race
Italy's Marta Bastianelli ended Dutch dominance of women's cycling road race title with a perfectly timed sprint finish at the Glasgow 2018 European Championships.
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Bastianelli only led the 130km race for the final few hundred metres, but saw off defending champion Marianne Vos (NED) to prevent a hat-trick of wins for the Netherlands since elite women's competition was added to the roster.
Germany's Lisa Brennauer took the bronze medal less than 24 hours after winning the individual pursuit title at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, Emirates Arena, to take her medal tally in Glasgow to three. She also won team pursuit bronze on Friday evening.
It has been a return to podium-topping form for Bastianelli, who was crowned world champion in Stuttgart 11 years ago, when she also beat Vos into the silver medal position.
The 31-year-old, who has a four-year-old son, has impressed this year with a series of victories in one-day races and used a powerful finishing kick to snatch the gold on Glasgow Green at the end of nine laps of the 14.4km city centre course.
The powerful Dutch squad had three riders heading the sprint train as it hit the home straight, having dominated the tactical race until the point it mattered most as Bastianelli powered past them.
Olympic champion Anna Van Der Breggen (NED) and Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini had looked set for a sprint duel for the gold after opening up a gap of 35 seconds on the final circuit, but were caught around one kilometre from the finish after they stopped cooperating in their attack.
Britain's Sophie Wright led the race for more than 40km after a solo attack. The 19-year-old, who also excels in mountain biking, earned her senior call-up following two heart operations to correct an irregular heartbeat. She eventually finished 57th.
