Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb) picked up her fourth WorldTour win of the 2017 season Saturday at the RideLondon Classique, sprinting to a narrow victory in the British capital.
The peloton pushed through driving rain on the urban circuit to set up a bunch kick on the Mall. Canyon-SRAM's Lisa Brennauer and Cervelo-Bigla's Lotta Lepistö battled at the head of the sprint to lead into the final hundred metres, but Rivera surged past on their right and pipped Lepistö for the win. Brennauer settled for third.
"I'm absolutely elated," said Rivera in a post-race interview on BBC Sports. "It's crazy. It's raining. It's not the best conditions, but when there's a goal in front of you, you've got to commit to get after it. It was a crazy, chaotic finish with a lot of elbows and everything."
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The peloton largely stayed together throughout the 66-kilometre race in the British capital. Claudia Koster (VeloConcept) launched the first attack in lap two of the 12-lap race, but the attempt was neutralised quickly. A handful of escape attempts followed but none had staying power, and the race proved more fast and strung out than attacking and animated.
"[In the rain], I think everyone rides a bit different, a bit faster average speed and a bit more careful through the corners," said Rivera. "Everyone is a little more cautious. It makes a greater margin for error, but you have to deal with it and everybody has to deal with it. It's a challenge for everyone.
"There were a lot sprinters here," said world champion Amalie Dideriksen, who sprinted in for seventh place. "Nearly every team came with a sprint, and when it's a criterium the speed is really high because everyone wants to ride the front to save energy in the corners. It gets really hard to get away and even harder to stay away. No one team had to take control because the nature of the race controlled it automatically."
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