September 5/98 4:07 am - Women's World Cup Final Story and Standings

Posted by Editor on 09/5/98
 

Women‚s World Cup Final, Bromont, Québec

„Thanks for the ride!‰ These were the first words of winner Gunn-Rita Dahle (American Eagle) to second place finisher Alison Sydor (Volvo-Cannondale) after their World Cup Final race in Bromont, Québec. Sydor set a torrid pace for the first three laps of the four lap race, hoping to gap the only rider capable of overtaking her in the final standings - Laurence Leboucher (Peugeot La Poste). „I was being cautious everywhere on the descents. It would have been nice to win, but the important thing was the overall.‰ Sydor‚s strategy worked, giving the Canadian her third World Cup title.

For the first three-quarters of the race, Sydor was shadowed by Dahle, as the twosome quickly dropped the rest of the field. Leboucher established a solid lock on third place, but dropped further back at every time check, eventually finishing over two and a half minutes back, and second in the World Cup final standings. Dahle made her move at the end of the third lap, after noting Sydor‚s caution on the descents. Initially, the gap hovered around 25 to 30 seconds, but in the final few kilometres the Norwegian opened it up to post a strong finish that makes her an early favourite for the World Championships in two weeks time. Dahle‚s result, however, left her one point shy of bumping Paola Pezzo (Gary Fisher) out of third spot in the final World Cup standings.

Behind the front trio, Margarita Fullana (Mt Dew/Specialized) and Pezzo played a cat-and-mouse game, with Fullana constantly dropping Pezzo on the climbs, only to have Italian catch back on during the descents. In the final two kilometre Fullana made a last successful effort to ditch Pezzo, taking fourth place, and overtaking Chantal Daucourt (Trek/VW) for fifth place in the final World Cup standings.

Race Notes

- Chrissy Redden (Ritchey), suffered the misfortune of a crash towards the end of the second lap, landing on her elbow, knee and head. With the World Championships only 2 weeks away, Chrissy decided it was better not to risk further injury, and dropped out. Her withdrawal dropped her from 8th to 11th in the final standings.

- It was good to see Sue Palmer-Komar (Haro) back in the saddle. Palmer-Komar is disappointed not to have been selected to the National squad for the World‚s, but hopes to go to the Road World‚s in October. Word is that Alison Sydor has also expressed interest in this project.


1. Gunn-Rita Dahle NOR American Eagle 1:51:08.75
2. Alison Sydor CAN Volvo-Cannondale at 1:33.05
3. Laurence Leboucher FRA Peugeot La Poste 2:35.41
4. Margarita Fullana ESP Mt Dew/Specialized 4:15.43
5. Paola Pezzo ITA Gary Fisher 4:39.67
6. Chantal Daucourt SUI Trek/Volkswagen 5:35.99
7. Alison Dunlap USA Team GT 6:52.94
8. Mary Grigson AUS A.I.S. 7:17.11
9. Alla Epifanova RUS 8:24.12
10. Annabella Stropparo ITA Volvo-Cannondale 9:18.34
11. Hedda Zu Puttlitz GER Be-One 9:59.95
12. Sandra Temporelli FRA Peugeot La Poste 10:07.46
13. Caroline Alexander GBR Ritchey 10:18.01
14. Mary Hearn USA Polo Sport 10:18.31
15. Barbara Blatter SUI Swiss Bike National 11:11.79
16. Lesley Tomlinson CAN Polo Sport 11:21.64
17. Jimena Florit-Juarez ARG Headshok 11:37.08
18. Ruthie Matthes USA Powerbar 12:39.21
19. Rene Marshman USA Moots Cycles 13:31.90
20. Melanie Dorion CAN Oryx-Procycle 13:55.33

22. Melanie McQuaid CAN Rocky Mountain 16:31.41
30. Sue Palmer-Komar CAN Haro 20:41.13
33. Patricia Sinclair CAN Kona Factory 21:39.82
35. Lisa McGilvray CAN Schwinn Canada 22:49.32
39. Leslie Green CAN Team GT Canada 24:38.99
49. Anna Healy CAN Totonka/RVC at -1 lap
Chrissy Redden CAN Ritchey DNF


Women‚s Final World Cup Cross-Country Standings

1. Sydor 426 points
2. Leboucher 410
3. Pezzo 397
4. Dahle 396
5. Fullana 357
6. Daucourt 353
7. Dunlap 346
8. Grigson 288
9. Epifanova 276
10. Alexander 266
11. Redden 248
12. Temporelli 243
13. Puttlitz 236
14. Stropparo 226
15. Nadia De Negri ITA Bianchi Martini 224
16. Tomlinson 220
17. Sylvia Fürst SUI Be-One 203
18. Tammy Jacques USA Schwinn/Toyota 194
20. Andrea Michels-Smith GER IKO/Corratec 170

23. Dorion 157
25. Palmer-Komar 153
55. Sinclair 48
67. Amber Chorney CAN 28
68. McGilvray 27
69. Greene 26
73. Marie-Helene Premont CAN 23
75. Linda Robichaud CAN 22
82. Christine Platt CAN 19
88. Sylvie Allen CAN 16
104. Marg Fedyna CAN ERTC/RVC10
107. Jeanie Dwyer CAN Newcourt/Devinci 9
111. Claire Townsend CAN 8
119. Gina Grain CAN 4
123. Healy 3
124. Larissa Pelletterio-York Calgary Cycle 3
128. Sally Carmichael CAN 2