Lorena Wiebes wins Prudential RideLondon Classique after Kirsten Wild disqualified for huge crash

Lorena Wiebes (Parkhotel Valkenburg) won the Prudential RideLondon Classique after Kirsten Wild (WNT-Rotor) was disqualified having veered from her sprinting line and inadvertently causing a huge crash behind that wiped out half of the peloton.

Elisa Balsamo (Valcar Cylance) was second and Coryn Rivera (Sunweb) third. Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) finished sixth.

Wild had found herself without team-mates to lead her out in the closing metres and took action to avoid getting swamped, leaving her sprinting line and coming round the side and crossing the line first. However, as she swung out to pass a rider ahead of her, she clipped the wheel of a rider behind, sending half the bunch down in the finishing straight.

The race jury took the decision soon after the conclusion of the race to strip her of the win and hand it to her compatriot Wiebes, who had originally finished second.

How it happened

The first of the day's action occurred when Alice Maria Arzuffi (Valcar Cylance) crashed after 5km of racing and was forced to abandon the race.

With intermediate sprints every four laps of the short circuit, Susanne Andersen (Sunweb) won the first before being beaten by Chloe Hosking (Alé Cipollini) at the next one.

Dani Christmas (Lotto Soudal Ladies) then attacked with 35km to go, but was reeled in within a kilometre.

Andersen added to her points tally at the third and fourth intermediate sprint, winning both, with no attacks coming as the peloton went under 7.5km to go.

Leah Kirchmann (Sunweb) crashed in the peloton with less than 5km left with an even bigger crash taking out half the peloton 50m from the line.

The main sprinters survived, though, as Kirsten Wild (WNT-Rotor) originally took the win with Lorena Wiebes (Parkhotel Valkenburg) second, before Wiebes was bumped up to first place following Wild's disqualification.

Results

Prudential RideLondon Classique

1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg, in 1-33-56

2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Valcar Cylance

3. Coryn Rivera (USA) Sunweb

4. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies

5. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Trek-Segafredo Women

6. Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv, all at same time

7. Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels-Dolmans, at one second

8. Marta Tagliaferro (Ita) Hitec Products

9. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Valcar Cylance

10. Eugénie Duval (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle Auitaine Futuroscope, all at same time