London 2012 Olympic Games women's road race photo gallery>>
Lizzie Armitstead gave Great Britain its first medal of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, claiming silver in the women's road race on Sunday behind Marianne Vos of the Netherlands.
Armitstead, Vos and Russian Olga Zabelinskaya came to the rain-soaked finish together having been part of an escape group all the way into London from the final ascent of Box Hill.
By the final kilometre, the trio had maintained a 40-second gap over the much reduced chasing peloton. Zabelinskaya - the weaker of the three in fast finishes - led Vos and Armitstead in the last 500 metres. Vos then opened up her sprint, with Armitstead fighting hard to come around her.
Vos held the British rider off in The Mall to claim the Olympic road race title, one of the few wins previously missing from her extensive palmares.
Ina Teutenberg won the field sprint for fourth place after her German team had done much of the chasing into London.
Netherlands and Great Britain lead the way
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Unlike the previous day's men's road race, the teams that put the work in to the day's racing were the ones that reaped the rewards.
Both the Netherlands and Great Britain teams rode tactically astute races, forcing escapes, upping the pace and policing breakaways where necessary. The four-rider limit for each team seemed to make little difference in their dominance of the 66-rider field.
Britain's Emma Pooley played a huge role in decimating the peloton and keeping an eye on escapes on the two loops of Box Hill - much to the delight of the crowd, who endured torrential rain but still managed to chant Pooley's name as she went past.
Defending Olympic champion Nicole Cooke caught back up to the bunch after drifting off the back on the first ascent of Box Hill. She maintained her place in the peloton to the line, ready with fresh legs should team-mate Armitstead's group get caught.
The fourth member of the British team - Lucy Martin - fared less well, getting dropped on Box Hill and not making it back up to the front of the race.
Punctures and crashes also played their part in proceedings. American Shelley Olds had been in the escape group with Armitstead, Vos and Zabelinskaya but was forced to drop out after suffering a flat tyre. Olds chased back up to eventually place seventh.
Pooley punctured in the final five kilometres, and came into the finish just under two minutes behind the leaders.
Several riders fell by the wayside as thunderstorms turned formerly dry roads into slick tarmac. No major injuries were reported.
Re-read out women's road race live text coverage>>
Results London 2012 Olympic Games, women's road race: London/Surrey 140km 1. Marianne Vos (Netherlands) in 3-35-29
2. Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain) at same time
3. Olga Zabelinskaya (Russia) at 2 secs
4. Ina Teutenberg (Germany) at 27 secs
5. Giorgia Bronzini (Italy)
6. Emma Johansson (Sweden)
7. Shelley Olds (USA)
8. Pauline Ferrand Prevot (France)
9. Liesbet De Vocht (Belgium)
10. Aude Biannic (France) at same time
British
31. Nicole Cooke (Great Britain) at 32 secs
40. Emma Pooley (Great Britain) at 1-57
Nicole Cooke
Emma Pooley on Box Hill
Lizzie Armitstead heads escape group
Emotional win: Marianne Vos
Armitstead, Vos and Zabelinskaya on the podium
London 2012: Live text coverage of cycling events
July 28: Men's road race
July 29: Women's road race
London 2012: Latest news
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Women's road race start list
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London 2012: Event guides
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Olympic Games men's road race: Who will win
Download detailed Olympic road race route map
London 2012 cycling schedule
London 2012: Reports
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Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
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