World Cup Rome: Vos Escapes Compton To Take Sunny Win; Nash Third UPDATED: Results

ROME, ITALY – On a beautiful, sunny day, World Champion Marianne Vos (Rabobank-Giant) launched a searing attack on Katie Compton (Trek) after the the duo stormed away from the rest of the riders on a course that was more criterium than cyclocross to take the seventh round of the World Cup series. Vos opened the race with an explosive start that only Compton was able to match, though Sanne van Paassen (Rabobank) managed to briefly bring the two back into the fold before Compton took to the front and hit the gas, dislodging all but the World Champion from her wheel. Compton led the middle laps, hoping to power away from the Dutch rider, but Vos bade her time on the dry, flat, grass-and-light-sand terrain held on a race track before sprinting around the American champion with such ferocity with three to go that Compton had no response. Though Compton tried to reel the World Champion back in, the gap, once established, never diminished. Compton finished 24 seconds down, comfortably securing her World Cup overall – the first ever by an Elite American – with 390 points to Nikki Harris’  254. Compton can now safely skip the final World Cup in Hoogerheide.

“I had a good start,” said Vos. “Katie passed me in the first lap and kept the pace really high. Katie was really strong, I knew I couldn’t make any mistakes. I waited for a moment.”

Vos, who is one of the most decorated cyclists of her generation, had tweeted earlier in the day of the complications of being a multi-discipline world champion: “Nearly took the wrong kit for the WC Rome. What a ‘problem’ if you can take the wrong rainbow jersey; road instead of cx. Fast course it is!”

Katerina Nash (Luna) launched a solo pursuit of the two leaders and spent the majority of the race on her own, staving off a group containing Sanne van Paassen, Helen Wyman, Lucie Chainel-Lefevre, Sanne Cant and Sabrina Stultiens. A late charge by van Paassen and Cant in the final laps looked like it might bring Nash back into the fold, but Nash held off the pursuit and crossed the line in third. Van Paassen came in for fourth. American Amy Dombroski finished in 16th.

2013 World Cup Rome Elite Women

Rank	Name	Nat.	Result
1	Marianne VOS	NED	39:38:00
2	Katherine COMPTON	USA	40:02:00
3	Katerina NASH	CZE	40:46:00
4	Sanne VAN PAASSEN	NED	40:53:00
5	Sanne CANT	BEL	41:00:00
6	Helen WYMAN	GBR	41:15:00
7	Sabrina STULTIENS	NED	41:24:00
8	Lucie CHAINEL-LEFEVRE	FRA	41:26:00
9	Ellen VAN LOY	BEL	41:40:00
10	Eva LECHNER	ITA	41:41:00
11	Julie KRASNIAK	FRA	41:43:00
12	Nikki HARRIS	GBR	41:43:00
13	Annefleur KALVENHAAR	NED	42:03:00
14	Christel FERRIER-BRUNEAU	FRA	42:06:00
15	Jasmin ACHERMANN	SUI	42:13:00
16	Amy DOMBROSKI	USA	42:33:00
17	Valentina SCANDOLARA	ITA	42:47:00
18	Pavla HAVLIKOVA	CZE	42:53:00
19	Elena VALENTINI	ITA	43:10:00
20	Joyce VANDERBEKEN	BEL	43:22:00
21	Francesca CUCCINIELLO	ITA	43:29:00
22	Gabriella DAY	GBR	43:43:00
23	Alice Maria ARZUFFI	ITA	44:11:00
24	Reza HORMES	NED	44:25:00
25	Martina MIKULASKOVA	CZE	45:02:00
26	Francesca CAUZ	ITA	45:19:00
27	Suzie GODART	LUX	45:20:00
28	Alessia BULLERI	ITA
29	Margriet Helena KLOPPENBURG	DEN
30	Nancy BOBER	BEL