After yesterday’s tense affair in the men’s Olympic cycling road race it was the turn of the women to take centre stage on the Mall in central London. Competing over a shorter 140 kilometre course, with two ascents of Box Hill, a super competitive field lined up under thunderous skies at the start of the race.
Defending champion Nicole Cooke (Great Britain) was a dark horse to repeat her win from Beijing, while strong teams from the Netherlands, Sweden, USA, Canada, Italy and Australia also had plenty of options for either a break or a mass bunch sprint.
