USA’s Guarnier Wins 1st Strade Bianche for Women
USA’S MEGAN GUARNIER WINS FIRST STRADE BIANCHE WOMEN ELITE
Teammate Armitstead finishes second, Longo Borghini third
Guarnier: “More races like this, please”
Strade Bianche Women Elite winner, Megan Guarnier on the race’s iconic white roads
Siena, 7 March 2015 – America’s Megan Guarnier (Boels Dolmans Cycling Team) has been crowned the inaugural Strade Bianche Women Elite champion, after a solo break 20 km from the finish line.
FINAL RESULT
1st – Megan Guarnier (BOELS DOLMANS CYCLING TEAM) in 2h09’17” average 34.470 km/h
2nd – Elizabeth Armitstead (BOELS DOLMANS CYCLING TEAM) at 37″
3rd – Elisa Longo Borghini (WIGGLE HONDA) at s.t.
MEGAN GUARNIER
How the race unfolded: “My team-mate Christine Majerus was in there early, but on the gravel section, where Lizzie attacked, we lost her. I attacked on the second to last gravel section, so I got to ride the last one on my own. I don’t know if I’m a good time trialist, but I knew I had to stay within myself. I didn’t really know what was in store for me. I knew I had to put all my cards into that move and concentrate on the finish. I never really had a really large gap.”
The white roads: “I loved the course. I think it was a hard course, and it makes it more of a woman-to-woman battle than a matter of team tactics, because it becomes a select field by the end. But the course was amazing, and hard, I love the Strade Bianche. I really wasn’t looking around so much today. It was incredible because you had the climbs and the wind, which was surprisingly strong. I was told it would be windy, but when we got to the places where it hit us, it was surprisingly strong. It was a very complete race: you needed power to get through the wind, and you needed to hit the hard climbs, too. The course was enjoyable, the people along the sidelines were enjoyable, but I probably missed a lot of really great views today.”
Biggest career win: “A win like this was long overdue, but on my father’s side, my great-great-great-grandparents are from Tuscany, so what better place to do it than here? It really hasn’t sunk in yet, and I’m sure I’ll wake up tomorrow morning and, like, did I really do that? It’s just an incredible race and to do it here is amazing. Everyone is really excited about this race. When it was announced, everyone started looking forward to it. A lot of women’s teams were here early to look at it and prepare. More races like this, please.
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