Everything changed with 30 kilometres to go. It was as if a switch had been flicked, a new act begun in the theatrical showing that was the elite women’s road race at the Road World Championships in Wollongong on Saturday. And, lingering patiently in the wings, the surprise star – the Netherlands’ Annemiek van Vleuten – waiting to steal the show yet again.
After ominous clouds had threatened all day, suddenly the rain started to fall. The home nation of Australia took the downpour as their cue: first Amanda Spratt, a two-time medallist at the World Championships, then the team’s protected star, Grace Brown, and finally workhorse rider Sarah Roy. None make their efforts stick on local roads, but it was the opening other nations needed.
