2018 UCI Road World Championships – Women's road race
# 2018 UCI Road World Championships – Women's road race

The Women's road race of the 2018 UCI Road World Championships was a cycling event that took place on 29 September 2018 in Innsbruck, Austria. It was the 58th edition of the event, for which Dutch rider Chantal Blaak was the defending champion, having won in 2017. 149 riders from 48 nations entered the competition.

Blaak surrendered the title to her teammate Anna van der Breggen, the reigning Olympic champion, after attacking on the penultimate ascent of the Aldrans–Lans–Igls climb. Having caught the erstwhile leaders a few kilometres later, van der Breggen soloed away from them not long after. Van der Breggen extended her advantage over the remaining 40 kilometres (25 miles) and continued on to her first world championship title with a winning margin of three minutes and forty-two seconds. Australia's Amanda Spratt managed to remain clear from the breakaway to take Australia's second consecutive silver medal, while Italy's Tatiana Guderzo – the 2009 world champion – completed the podium, attacking on the final lap from a small group; she finished almost five-and-a-half minutes in arrears of van der Breggen.

## Course

The race started in Kufstein and headed south-west towards Innsbruck with a primarily rolling route, except for a climb of 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) between Fritzens and Gnadenwald – as had been in the time trial events earlier in the week – with an average 7.1% gradient and maximum of 14% in places. After 84.2 kilometres (52.3 miles), the riders crossed the finish line for the first time, before starting three laps of a circuit 23.8 kilometres (14.8 miles) in length. The circuit contained a climb of 7.9 kilometres (4.9 miles), at an average gradient of 5.9% but reaching 10% in places, from the outskirts of Innsbruck through Aldrans and Lans towards Igls. After a short period of flat roads, the race descended through Igls back towards Innsbruck and the finish line in front of the Tyrolean State Theatre. At 155.6 kilometres (96.7 miles), the 2018 women's road race was the longest in the championships' history, surpassing the previous record of 152.8 kilometres (94.9 miles) in 2017.

## Qualification

Qualification was based mainly on the UCI World Ranking by nations as of 12 August 2018. The first five nations in this classification qualified seven riders to start, the next ten nations qualified six riders to start and the next five nations qualified five riders to start. All other nations had the possibility to send three riders to start. In addition to this number, the outgoing World Champion and the current continental champions (for both elite and under-23 riders) were also able to take part.

### Continental champions

| Champion | Name | Note |
| - | - | - |
| Outgoing World Champion | Chantal Blaak (NED) | Competed |
| Asian Champion | Nguyễn Thị Thật (VIE) | Competed |
| Pan American Champion | Arlenis Sierra (CUB) | Competed |
| African Champion | Bisrat Gebremeskel (ERI) | Did not compete |
| Asian Under-23 Champion | Liu Zixin (CHN) | Did not compete |
| European Champion | Marta Bastianelli (ITA) | Did not compete |
| European Under-23 Champion | Nikola Nosková (CZE) | Did not compete |
| Oceanian Champion | Sharlotte Lucas (NZL) | Did not compete |

### UCI World Ranking by Nations

Rankings as at 12 August 2018.

| Rank | Nation | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Netherlands | 7123.71 |
| 2 | Australia | 3644.91 |
| 3 | Italy | 3521.43 |
| 4 | United States | 3069.14 |
| 5 | Germany | 2025.60 |
| 6 | Belgium | 1947.98 |
| 7 | South Africa | 1747.12 |
| 8 | Poland | 1577.81 |
| 9 | France | 1539.32 |
| 10 | Spain | 1262.62 |
| Rank | Nation | Points |
| 11 | Denmark | 1241.74 |
| 12 | Canada | 1122.47 |
| 13 | Great Britain | 1110.21 |
| 14 | New Zealand | 1110 |
| 15 | Cuba | 950 |
| 16 | Slovenia | 910 |
| 17 | Luxembourg | 907.57 |
| 18 | Russia | 891 |
| 19 | Norway | 623.33 |
| 20 | Sweden | 597.60 |

### Participating nations

149 cyclists from 48 nations were entered in the women's road race. The number of cyclists per nation is shown in parentheses.

* Albania (1)
* Argentina (1)
* Australia (7)
* Austria (3)
* Belgium (6)
* Brazil (2)
* Canada (6)
* Chile (1)
* China (1)
* Colombia (3)
* Croatia (1)
* Cuba (2)
* Cyprus (1)
* Czech Republic (1)
* Denmark (6)
* Eritrea (1)
* Ethiopia (1)
* Finland (2)
* France (6)
* Germany (7)
* Great Britain (6)
* Greece (1)
* Hong Kong (2)
* Hungary (1)
* Ireland (1)
* Israel (2)
* Italy (7)
* Japan (3)
* Kazakhstan (3)
* Lithuania (1)
* Luxembourg (2)
* Netherlands (8)
* New Zealand (3)
* Norway (5)
* Poland (6)
* Romania (1)
* Russia (5)
* Serbia (1)
* Slovakia (2)
* Slovenia (4)
* South Africa (2)
* Spain (6)
* Sweden (3)
* Switzerland (3)
* Trinidad and Tobago (1)
* Ukraine (3)
* United States (7)
* Vietnam (1)

## Final classification

Of the race's 149 entrants, 81 riders completed the full distance of 155.6 kilometres (96.7 miles).

| Rank | Rider | Country | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Anna van der Breggen | Netherlands | 4h 11' 04" |
| 2 | Amanda Spratt | Australia | + 3' 42" |
| 3 | Tatiana Guderzo | Italy | + 5' 26" |
| 4 | Emilia Fahlin | Sweden | + 6' 13" |
| 5 | Małgorzata Jasińska | Poland | + 6' 13" |
| 6 | Karol-Ann Canuel | Canada | + 6' 17" |
| 7 | Annemiek van Vleuten | Netherlands | + 7' 05" |
| 8 | Amy Pieters | Netherlands | + 7' 05" |
| 9 | Lucinda Brand | Netherlands | + 7' 17" |
| 10 | Ruth Winder | United States | + 7' 17" |
| 11 | Rasa Leleivytė | Lithuania | + 7' 17" |
| 12 | Katarzyna Niewiadoma | Poland | + 7' 17" |
| 13 | Elisa Longo Borghini | Italy | + 7' 17" |
| 14 | Sara Poidevin | Canada | + 7' 17" |
| 15 | Anastasiia Iakovenko | Russia | + 7' 17" |
| 16 | Megan Guarnier | United States | + 7' 17" |
| 17 | Ashleigh Moolman | South Africa | + 7' 17" |
| 18 | Clara Koppenburg | Germany | + 7' 17" |
| 19 | Margarita Victoria García | Spain | + 7' 17" |
| 20 | Erica Magnaldi | Italy | + 7' 17" |
| 21 | Katie Hall | United States | + 7' 17" |
| 22 | Jolanda Neff | Switzerland | + 7' 17" |
| 23 | Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig | Denmark | + 7' 22" |
| 24 | Lucy Kennedy | Australia | + 7' 31" |
| 25 | Leah Kirchmann | Canada | + 8' 18" |
| 26 | Dani Rowe | Great Britain | + 8' 18" |
| 27 | Arlenis Sierra | Cuba | + 8' 18" |
| 28 | Sofie De Vuyst | Belgium | + 8' 18" |
| 29 | Stine Borgli | Norway | + 8' 18" |
| 30 | Polona Batagelj | Slovenia | + 8' 18" |
| 31 | Coryn Rivera | United States | + 8' 18" |
| 32 | Hanna Nilsson | Sweden | + 8' 18" |
| 33 | Urša Pintar | Slovenia | + 8' 18" |
| 34 | Eider Merino Cortazar | Spain | + 8' 18" |
| 35 | Shara Gillow | Australia | + 8' 18" |
| 36 | Sina Frei | Switzerland | + 8' 18" |
| 37 | Annika Langvad | Denmark | + 8' 18" |
| 38 | Edwige Pitel | France | + 8' 18" |
| 39 | Yevheniya Vysotska | Ukraine | + 8' 18" |
| 40 | Julie Van de Velde | Belgium | + 8' 18" |
| 41 | Sophie Wright | Great Britain | + 8' 36" |
| 42 | Kelly Van den Steen | Belgium | + 9' 00" |
| 43 | Ingrid Lorvik | Norway | + 9' 00" |
| 44 | Chantal Blaak | Netherlands | + 9' 00" |
| 45 | Hannah Barnes | Great Britain | + 10' 58" |
| 46 | Liane Lippert | Germany | + 10' 58" |
| 47 | Georgia Williams | New Zealand | + 11' 01" |
| 48 | Grace Brown | Australia | + 11' 01" |
| 49 | Omer Shapira | Israel | + 11' 14" |
| 50 | Githa Michiels | Belgium | + 12' 32" |
| 51 | Alison Jackson | Canada | + 12' 48" |
| 52 | Liliana Moreno | Colombia | + 13' 01" |
| 53 | Ane Santesteban | Spain | + 13' 01" |
| 54 | Brodie Chapman | Australia | + 13' 01" |
| 55 | Maria Novolodskaya | Russia | + 13' 10" |
| 56 | Olga Shekel | Ukraine | + 13' 46" |
| 57 | Lorena Llamas | Spain | + 14' 05" |
| 58 | Elena Pirrone | Italy | + 14' 05" |
| 59 | Angelika Tazreiter | Austria | + 14' 26" |
| 60 | Ellen van Dijk | Netherlands | + 14' 29" |
| 61 | Juliette Labous | France | + 14' 29" |
| 62 | Anabel Yapura | Argentina | + 14' 29" |
| 63 | Sofia Bertizzolo | Italy | + 14' 29" |
| 64 | Dani Christmas | Great Britain | + 14' 51" |
| 65 | Špela Kern | Slovenia | + 14' 51" |
| 66 | Grace Anderson | New Zealand | + 14' 51" |
| 67 | Urška Žigart | Slovenia | + 14' 55" |
| 68 | Anna Plichta | Poland | + 16' 05" |
| 69 | Janneke Ensing | Netherlands | + 16' 05" |
| 70 | Diana Klimova | Russia | + 18' 04" |
| 71 | Amalie Dideriksen | Denmark | + 18' 04" |
| 72 | Soraya Paladin | Italy | + 18' 04" |
| 73 | Audrey Cordon-Ragot | France | + 18' 04" |
| 74 | Sara Bergen | Canada | + 18' 20" |
| 75 | Stephanie Subercaseaux | Chile | + 18' 44" |
| Rank | Rider | Country | Time |
| 76 | Paula Patiño | Colombia | + 18' 44" |
| 77 | Natalya Saifutdinova | Kazakhstan | + 18' 44" |
| 78 | Caroline Bohé | Denmark | + 18' 44" |
| 79 | Eri Yonamine | Japan | + 20' 47" |
| 80 | Jeanne Korevaar | Netherlands | + 22' 33" |
| 81 | Sarah Rijkes | Austria | + 23' 06" |
| | Marta Lach | Poland | DNF |
| | Alice Sharpe | Ireland | DNF |
| | Tayler Wiles | United States | DNF |
| | Lisa Brennauer | Germany | DNF |
| | Anna Henderson | Great Britain | DNF |
| | Annabelle Dreville | France | DNF |
| | Sara Penton | Sweden | DNF |
| | Ana Maria Covrig | Romania | DNF |
| | Mónika Király | Hungary | DNF |
| | Antri Christoforou | Cyprus | DNF |
| | Pernille Mathiesen | Denmark | DNF |
| | Mikayla Harvey | New Zealand | DNF |
| | Katherine Maine | Canada | DNF |
| | Pu Yixian | China | DNF |
| | Amiliya Iskakova | Kazakhstan | DNF |
| | Trixi Worrack | Germany | DNF |
| | Elena Cecchini | Italy | DNF |
| | Charlotte Becker | Germany | DNF |
| | Eugénie Duval | France | DNF |
| | Aude Biannic | France | DNF |
| | Leah Thomas | United States | DNF |
| | Lotta Lepistö | Finland | DNF |
| | Jelena Erić | Serbia | DNF |
| | Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru | Ethiopia | DNF |
| | Kathrin Hammes | Germany | DNF |
| | Varvara Fasoi | Greece | DNF |
| | Anna Potokina | Russia | DNF |
| | Katarzyna Wilkos | Poland | DNF |
| | Alicia González Blanco | Spain | DNF |
| | Nguyễn Thị Thật | Vietnam | DNF |
| | Aurela Nerlo | Poland | DNF |
| | Emma Cecilie Norsgaard | Denmark | DNF |
| | Nicole Hanselmann | Switzerland | DNF |
| | Hiromi Kaneko | Japan | DNF |
| | Vita Heine | Norway | DNF |
| | Susanne Andersen | Norway | DNF |
| | Tereza Medveďová | Slovakia | DNF |
| | Claire Faber | Luxembourg | DNF |
| | Teniel Campbell | Trinidad and Tobago | DNF |
| | Leung Wing Yee | Hong Kong | DNF |
| | Ana Sanabria | Colombia | DNF |
| | Miyoko Karami | Japan | DNF |
| | Faina Potapova | Kazakhstan | DNF |
| | Anne-Sophie Harsch | Luxembourg | DNF |
| | Rotem Gafinovitz | Israel | DNF |
| | Alice Cobb | Great Britain | DNF |
| | Maja Perinović | Croatia | DNF |
| | Cristina Martínez | Spain | DNF |
| | Tatiana Jaseková | Slovakia | DNF |
| | Sarah Roy | Australia | DNF |
| | Tiffany Cromwell | Australia | DNF |
| | Alexis Ryan | United States | DNF |
| | Tetyana Ryabchenko | Ukraine | DNF |
| | Katrine Aalerud | Norway | DNF |
| | Martina Ritter | Austria | DNF |
| | Kseniya Dobrynina | Russia | DNF |
| | Tereza Korvasová | Czech Republic | DNF |
| | Viivi Puskala | Finland | DNF |
| | Kaat Hannes | Belgium | DNF |
| | Camila Coelho | Brazil | DNF |
| | Clemilda Fernandes | Brazil | DNF |
| | Valerie Demey | Belgium | DNF |
| | Christa Riffel | Germany | DNF |
| | Elne Owen | South Africa | DNF |
| | Heidy Bernal | Cuba | DNF |
| | Mosana Debesay | Eritrea | DNF |
| | Leung Hoi-wah | Hong Kong | DNF |
| | Rudina Baku | Albania | DNF |
