Having looked like they were in with a chance of a podium finish as they approached the closing kilometres of the women’s team time trial at the UCI Road World Championships, Rabobank-Liv saw their chances instantly vanish as three of the four remaining riders in the team all hit the floor in a horrible crash.
The crash came as a result of Annemiek van Vleuten, who was leading on the front, seemingly clipping the foot of the metal barrier as the team approached the bend. Only one team member managed to get through the crash unscathed, but Rabo’s challenge had instantly dissolved at that point.
Marianne Vos had surprisingly already been dropped by her teammates just after the second time checkpoint on the course, perhaps in an aim to save herself for individual events later next week, and so wasn’t involved in the crash.
Specialized-Lululemon took the victory for the third consecutive time, finishing 1-17 ahead of Orica-AIS and 2-19 ahead of Astana BePink who finished in silver and bronze position respectively over the 36km course in Ponferrada, Spain.
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