Marianne Vos (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) confirmed her overall victory in the 2013 World Cup with a second successive solo win in the GP Plouay-Bretagne in western France. The World champion jumped away from compatriot Anna van der Breggen (Sengers Ladies) and World number one Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) on the final ascent of the Côte de Ty-Marrec with just under five kilometres to go after the three riders had earlier broken clear of a five-rider group.
Despite pressure from van der Breggen in the closing kilometres, Johansson managed to get the better of the 23-year-old Dutchwoman in the finishing straight to take second place, 12 seconds behind the jubilant Vos.
Having already secured the World Cup in the previous round, in Vårgårda, Sweden, Vos increased her margin of victory over Johansson in the classification to 127 points.
The peloton stayed together for the first of five laps of the hilly 27km circuit, but a succession of attacks from Rabobank-Liv/Giant and Specialized-lululemon on lap two saw the bunch thin out considerably as it responded to the changes of pace.
Carmen Small (Specialized-lululemon), Netherlands champion Lucinda Brand (Rabobank-Liv/Giant), Chantal Blaak (Tibco-To The Top), Aude Biannic (France), Marta Tagliaferro (MCipollini-Giordana), Cecilie Gotaas Johnsen (Hitec Products) and Amanda Spratt (Orica-AIS) managed to get a few seconds clear at the end of the lap, but were pulled back into the peloton soon into lap three.
There followed a number of further attacks, including one from veteran Edwige Pitel (France), but nobody was able to get away until Jasmin Glaesser (Tibco-To The Top) managed to escape midway through lap four. On the Ty-Marrec, however, Alena Amialyusik (Be Pink) powered past the Canadian with a group in tow, and the winning move was made.
Alongside the Belarusian champion were Vos, Johansson and van der Breggen, and Karol-Ann Canuel (Vienne-Futuroscope), and the five riders began to work well together to distance the rest.
At the bell the five-rider group was 28 seconds ahead of the peloton, with the now-depleted Specialized-lululemon team trying to give chase with Hitec Products. The gap hovered at around 30 seconds for some time, before the peloton was forced to give up, and it soon grew to more than a minute.
A big acceleration from van der Breggen midway through the lap could only be followed by Vos, and the two Dutchwomen rode away from the rest. Johansson managed to claw her way across the gap in the next kilometre, but Amialyusik and Canuel were now dropped.
Amialyusik refused to give up, however, and was also gaining on the three leaders, but the Ty-Marrec was approaching again, and the Be Pink rider was never to regain contact.
Vos attacked on the steepest part of the climb, leaving Johansson and van der Breggen behind, and the World champion continued her effort all the way to the finish. With plenty of time to sit up and celebrate, Vos took the line to win her second straight Plouay victory, and an incredible fifth of the eight rounds of the 2013 World Cup.
Despite van der Breggen’s best efforts to shake off Johansson in the closing kilometres, the former Swedish champion got the better of the 23-year-old to take the sprint for second place.
Result GP Plouay-Bretagne 2013
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank-Liv/Giant
2. Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica-AIS @ 12s
3. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Sengers Ladies Cycling Team @ 17s
4. Alena Amialiusik (Blr) Be Pink @ 1’27”
5. Karol-Ann Canuel (Can) Vienne-Futuroscope @ 1’35”
6. Lucinda Brand (Ned) Rabobank-Liv/Giant @ 3’56”
7. Noemi Cantele (Ita) Be Pink
8. Tatiana Antoshina (Rus) MCipollini-Giordana
9. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Rabobank-Liv/Giant
10. Rossella Ratto (Ita) Hitec Products
Final 2013 World Cup standings
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank-Liv/Giant 429pts
2. Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica-AIS 302
3. Ellen van Dijk (Ned) Specialized-lululemon 224
4. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Sengers Ladies Cycling Team 158
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Hitec Products 156
6. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Rabobank-Liv/Giant 101
7. Amy Pieters (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 80
8. Tetyana Riabchenko (Ukr) Chirio Forno d’Asolo 75
9. Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling 69
10. Evelyn Stevens (USA) Specialized-lululemon 60