MONTRÉAL – Matilde Rossignoli won the silver medal in the Junior Women's Road Race at the World Championships in Montreal, finishing with a brilliant performance that saw her dominate, especially in the decisive phase. The title goes to Spain's Alejandra Neira, who finished ahead of Italy's Alejandra Neira and Switzerland's Anja Grossmann.
The 18-year-old from Salizzole didn't just wait for the sprint. Once the race heated up, she was among the leaders of the group that led a trio that would later battle for the title with Maria Okrucińska (Poland) and Mirthe Mons (Netherlands). The Italian appeared among the strongest in the final stretch, but she got off to a slow start and was overtaken in the final meters by the Spaniard. A silver win or a gold loss? «"I have a few regrets, because I could have set a shorter sprint. But I'm really happy with second place, because it's a fantastic result. There were 100 of us starting, and to be able to get on the podium is fantastic.".
Matilde then reconstructed the ending like this: «We collaborated a bit, and in the last three kilometers, Maria and another girl came back in front. At that point, the sprint got a little tense, because there were five of us and maybe we waited a bit too long. In the end, the strongest one won.
Behind the medal-winning group, Azzurra Ballan finished 18th, 1'40" behind, while Giorgia Pellizotti finished 22nd, 1'42". Junior women's results: Maria Acuti did not finish the race. Junior women's results.
