Olivia Dillon and Mel Spath battle hard in white heat of World Champs in Italy

It was "line-out central" for Mel Spath and Olivia Dillon even before they got to the climbs at the Worlds today (Photo: Sean Rowe)

By Jimmy Lally

Ireland’s Olivia Dillon and Mel Spath were unable to finish after the commissaires forced them to abandon at the beginning of their final lap of the Elite Women’s Road Race at the World Championships today, Saturday.

Dillon and Spath were dropped when the American squad blew the race apart on the first serious climb of the day, and were never able to re-establish contact.

The experienced Irish pair bravely pressed on as part of a large group of distanced riders, but their contingent was unable to avoid falling foul of an organisers’ policy that sees those who have fallen significantly behind pulled from the event.

It was a hugely entertaining race contested at an eye-watering speed, and the monstrous tempo meant 95 out of 141 riders would share the same fate as Dillon and Spath. Though it was certainly a difficult day in the saddle for both Irishwomen, they outlasted over half of their competitors and emerge from the Worlds with credit.

Dillon and Spath were faced with the same course as the junior men completed this morning. The day began with a largely flat 57.2-kilometre ride from Montecatini Terme to Florence, with the riders then being asked to tackle five laps of a hilly 16-kilometre circuit.

That circuit got underway with an ascent of the testing 4.4-kilometre Fiesole climb, followed by a descent to the foot of the steep, 600-metre Via Salviati ramp. Once that sharp ascent was scaled, the race would conclude with a largely downhill five-kilometre run to the finish.

The pace was high in the early kilometres and it took a considerable amount of time for the first attack to come. Patricia Schwager (Switzerland) had suffered an early mechanical, but she was able get back to the field and surge ahead with 30 kilometres covered. However, the move did not stick.

Schwager’s aggression was emulated by many as the circuit began to draw near, but still none had been able to escape the bunch when the first lap got underway. Some riders had already been distanced by the electric pace, but Spath and Dillon were still safely ensconced in the pack.

Onto the first climb of the Fiesole and the American team was setting an infernal rhythm. Quickly there were riders scattered all over the road, with both Irishwomen among those distanced from a main peloton that had been whittled down to about 40 riders.

The first escape group finally formed on the descent. Doris Schweizer (Switzerland) was able to break out of the pack and was swiftly followed by Belgium’s Liesbet de Vocht. This duo was joined by Valentina Scandolara (Italy) on the Via Salviati, and together these three women tried to establish a meaningful advantage.

But soon they had been caught and it was Maaike Polspoel (Belgium) who was next to launch an attack, the Belgian darting clear of the bunch just before the second lap got underway. Spath and Dillon were by now in the third group on the road, a sizeable contingent that found itself about two minutes off the lead.

But Polspoel too was caught when the Fiesole arrived for the second time. And despite a couple of digs here and there, an elite group of about 30 remained bunched together as the third lap got underway with the Irish duo at five minutes down.

Now the Italians were ultra-aggressive but ultimately it was an attack from Lucinda Brand (Netherlands) that would stick, with the Dutch national champion taking 19-year-old Rossella Ratto (Italy) along for company. Dillon and Spath were over nine minutes down and it was looking like they might struggle to avoid a forced exit.

The duo of Brand and Ratto began the fourth lap with a small lead, but they were hauled back on the Fiesole not long before Evie Stevens (USA) absolutely annihilated most of the favourites’ group.

The ferociously powerful American soared clear as the road curved upwards, with Olympic silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain) and twice World Champion Giorgia Bronzini (Italy) among those shelled out the rear. Just six women could live with the pace of the ferociously powerful Stevens, and briefly it looked as though this group would stay away to the end. But on the technical descent of the Fiesole, Tiffany Cromwell (Australia) brilliantly managed to ride across to the seven leaders.

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Pre-race favourite Marianne Vos was present in the group and looking comfortable at the front alongside a teammate. Lurking in the wheels of the Dutch duo were the impressive youngster Rossella Ratto and her compatriots Tatiana Guderzo and Elisa Longo Borghini. Desperate for a win on their native turf, this Italian trio was deep in conversation, trying hard to think of a tactic that would put the Dutch superstar in trouble.

The pace had settled down and this allowed a handful of riders to bridge back across to the elite group as the final lap began. Cromwell was the first to attack on the last ascent of the Fiesole, but the 25-year-old was running out of energy and her move did not last long.

Instead it was again Stevens who left an indelible mark on the race, the aggressive American again demonstrating her strength in dragging four women clear of the rest. A trio of pursuers managed to get back to this group just shy of the Via Salviati, but it was on this short, sharp ascent that 26-year-old Vos made her decisive move.

None could match the defending champion’s power on the punishing ascent and she came to the top with a lead of five seconds over Ratto and Emma Johansson (Sweden). Vos remained within the sight of the two chasers for the final five-kilometre run home, and the tension was unbearable as you wondered if she could sustain enough power to claim a third rainbow jersey.

A silly question, as the Dutch rider refused to fade and crossed to take a memorable triumph. Yet again, she is a rider without peer.