The leader of the UCI Women's World Cup, Wiggle-Honda's Jolien d'Hoore, has announced she will not be competing at the final event of the series this weekend in order to fully prepare for September's World Championships.
D'Hoore took the lead last weekend with a win at the Crescent Vårgårda road race in Sweden as a late crash by Lizzie Armitstead saw her slip down the leaderboard.
But the 25-year-old Belgian said she always planned to have a month of solid training before the World Championships in Richmond on September 26.
"I have taken a decision now," she is reported as saying in Het Nieuwsblad. "I will not start on Saturday. The goal was to have a solid block of training this week with a view to the World Championships next month.
"If I need to travel to Plouay, I quickly lose three days and also I find a course there that is for me. So I prefer to train a few days and next Tuesday I will start in the Boels Rental Ladies Tour, a major stage race, where I want to perform.”
D'Hoore has been on fine form this season, winning 10 races and coming second overall at the Aviva Women's Tour in June.
Her non-participation at Sunday's GP Plouay effectively leaves Armitstead battling it out with Anna Van Der Breggen - winner of La Course - for the overall victory. D'Hoore's teammate Elisa Longo Borghini sits 65 points behind Van Der Breggen and has an outside chance of scooping victory, with 120 points on offer for a win on Sunday.
Of course, if none of these riders performs well at the series-ending race then D'Hoore will be crowned champion. It's literally all up for grabs.
-
-
Ned Boulting: 'Twitter eats into my day and sometimes into my soul a little bit'
With the 2021 edition released, the editor of the Road Book sits down for a Q&A session featuring Julian Alaphilippe, an imagined life as a footballer, and moths
By Jonny Long •
-
Best Cyber Monday 2021 exercise bikes, smart bike and Peloton deals
Don't miss out on the big savings on on indoor bikes, including Stages and Tacx smart bikes
By Stefan Abram •
-
Here is the Great Britain women’s team for World Championships 2020 in Imola
The swiftly re-arranged World Championships are just a few weeks away and the Great Britain women’s team has been confirmed.
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Why a women’s Tour de France next year is a no-go
With a women's Tour de France all but certain, calls for it to happen in 2021 are wide of the mark, argues Owen Rogers
By Owen Rogers •
-
‘I thought it was a weird sport’: Lizzie Deignan on how she started cycling on ‘Home Roads’ podcast
Lizzie Deignan as offered an honest insight into her home life, being scouted from school, and how she spent her year away from racing in the ‘Home Roads’ podcast.
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Former world champion Lizzie Deignan announces pregnancy
Lizzie Deignan and her husband Philip are due to have their first child in September
By Owen Rogers •
-
Lizzie Deignan rethinking retirement plans
A new focus may override British rider Lizzie Deignan's original intention to bow out after the 2019 World Champs
By Owen Rogers •
-
Lizzie Deignan has appendix removed: World Championships in doubt
British champion Lizzie Deignan says she will be taking the rest of the season 'day by day' after having appendix removed
By Nigel Wynn •
-
Lizzie Deignan to UCI: ‘Monitor more women’s whereabouts’
Former world champion Lizzie Deignan calls for comprehensive scrutiny to combat doping in women's pro cycling
By Sophie Hurcom •
-
Lizzie Armitstead knocked off top of WorldTour as Chantal Blaak wins Ghent-Wevelgem
Lizzie Armitstead finished over two minutes down on her teammate at the 2016 Ghent-Wevelgem, after Blaak attacked to take a solo victory
By Owen Rogers •
