Lotte Kopecky defends women's road title at world cycling championship

ZURICH (AP) — Lotte Kopecky successfully defended her title at the women's road race at the cycling world championships Saturday, beating her rivals in a six-way sprint finish.

The 28-year-old Belgian rider timed her attack to perfection in the last 100 metres to fend off American rider Chloé Dygert and Italian Elisa Longo-Borghini. She thrust her arms in the air as she savored another victory.

Magdeleine Vallières-Mill of Sherbrooke, Que., was the top Canadian in 14th. She finished three minutes back of the leaders.

The 154-kilometre trek from Uster to Zurich featured a short but steep climb, while the rainy conditions made descents even more precarious. The top six were timed at four hours, 5 seconds.

Kopecky won last year's race ahead of Dutchwoman Demi Vollering, who took silver in last Sunday's women's time trial behind Olympic champion Grace Brown of Australia.

Vollering led into the last kilometer on Saturday but couldn't muster the strength for a decisive attack.

The race was held with cycling mourning the death of 18-year-old Muriel Furrer.

She died Friday, one day after sustaining a head injury in a crash at the road world championships.

Furrer was competing in the junior women’s event on rain-slicked roads when she crashed in a forest area south of Zurich.

The president of the International Cycling Union, David Lappartient, was asked about the circumstances surrounding Furrer's death at a news conference Saturday morning. According to quotes carried by specialist website Cycling News, he referred the matter to police authorities.

“I will not comment directly about this because there are ongoing investigations from the police, that’s their job, I can’t answer. Everybody has their mission when it comes to an accident like this, it’s up to the police to establish everything,” Cyclingnews.com reported. “They will go at their speed and follow their procedures, and we will respect their job.”

The men's road race takes place Sunday, with another possible Belgian victory.

After winning the men's time trial last weekend, Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel attempts a double-double, having also won the men's road race and the time trial at the Paris Games.

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The Associated Press