Four places each for Netherlands, Germany, United States, Italy and Great Britain in 67-strong peloton
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has officially announced the allocation per country of places in the women’s Olympic road race in London on July 29th. The 67-strong peloton will be divided according to the UCI World Ranking up to May 31st, with the top five countries on the list awarded the maximum four spots each.
The Netherlands, largely thanks to Marianne Vos’ dominance of the 2011 season, tops the table, ahead of Germany, with a strong spring - and its almost total domination of the inaugural Exergy Tour - lifting the United States up to third. Italy, as a result, drops to fourth, while Great Britain holds on to fifth place, despite being pushed close by Sweden and Australia, who head the long list of nations with three riders each.
Along with Sweden and Australia, Russia, Belgium, Canada, France, Brazil and South Africa also have three riders each, since they occupy positions six to 13 in the rankings. Those countries ranked 14 to 23 would ordinarily have two each, although these have all lost one to the nations below them, which have an individual rider in the top 100.
Consequently, Lithuania, New Zealand, Venezuela, Cuba, Luxembourg, Ukraine, China, El Salvador, Belarus and Norway all lose a place to Azerbaijan, Chinese Taipei, Estonia, Finland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Slovenia and Thailand.
The final three places are allocated to the winners of the African, Asian and American continental championships, which would ordinarily go to South Africa, Cuba and Chinese Tapei but, since these countries already have allocated places, they go to those further down the result.
Aurelie Halbwachs’ third place in the African championships - behind South Africans Asheligh Moolman and Cherise Taylor - gets a place for Mauritius. Chile gets the American championship spot through Paola Munoz, despite only finishing eighth in the Pan American championships, behind Cuba, Canada, Brazil, the United States and Venezuela; while Hong Kong gets the Asian championships place through Meng Zhao Juan’s fifth place, behind Chinese Tapei, Korea, Thailand and China.
The allocation of places in the time trial is slightly less complicated, with one place awarded to the top 15 nations in the World ranking, plus one awarded to each nation that had a rider in the top ten of last year’s World championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, up to a maximum of two each.
Since the top ten was packed with Canadians, Dutch and Americans, the allocation of places from Copenhagen goes all the way down to Elena Chalykh of Azerbaijan in thirteenth.
A new regulation introduced for this Olympic Games stipulates that the places in the time trial must be filled by riders in the road race team. This will prevent a repeat of the Beijing event, which saw Switzerland’s Karin Thürig qualify through her place in the track team, and in Athens 2004 - in the men’s event - where Dutchman Thomas Dekker rode the time trial only.
Any national Olympic committees that do not intend to fill all of their allocation must inform the UCI by June 15th, and those places will be reallocated on July 7th.
Allocated places by nation for road race and time trial by ranking
1. Netherlands: 4, 2
2. Germany: 4, 2
3. United States of America: 4, 2
4. Italia: 4, 2
5. Great Britain: 4, 2
6. Sweden: 3, 2
7. Australia: 3, 2
8. Russia: 3, 2
9. Belgium: 3, 1
10. Canada: 3, 2
11. France: 3, 1
12. Brazil: 3, 1
13. South Africa: 3, 1
14. Lithuania: 1, 1
15. New Zealand: 1, 1
16. Venezuela: 1, 0
17. Cuba: 1, 0
18. Luxembourg: 1, 0
19. Ukraine: 1, 0
20. China: 1, 0
21. El Salvador: 1, 0
22. Belarus: 1, 0
23. Norway: 1, 0
* Azerbaijan: 1, 1
** Chile: 1, 0
* Chinese Taipei: 1, 0
* Estonia: 1, 0
* Finland: 1, 0
** Hong Kong: 1, 0
* Japan: 1, 0
* Korea: 1, 0
** Mauritius: 1, 0
* Mexico: 1, 0
* Poland: 1, 0
* Slovenia: 1, 0
* Thailand: 1, 0
Total: 67, 25
* denotes nations qualifying through having a rider in the UCI top 100
** denotes nations qualifying through Continental championships