After placing seventh in the Olympic Games road race in Tokyo, Coryn Rivera (Team DSM) has returned to racing with impressive form, narrowly missing on a dead-set win on stage 1 of the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta. The American finished runner-up after winning the chase-group sprint behind solo stage winner and overall leader Marlen Reusser (Alè BTC Ljubljana).
“Big mountain day today. There was a bigger group that got away towards the bottom of the climb and there was an opportunity for me to bridge across to it and I made it, but it took a little bit out of me and then I just had to race as smart as I could in the final kilometres," Rivera said.
"Marlen was just really strong and got away in the last few kilometres and then I did my best with the sprint in the end.”
The 29-year-old took two second-place finishes in the Ladies Tour of Norway last month, winning the bunch sprint for second behind Riejanne Markus (Jumbo-Visma) on stage 2 and narrowly missing out to Chloe Hosking (Trek-Segafredo) on stage 4.
On Monday, at GP Plouay, Rivera was active at the front of the race alongside teammate Liane Lippert and claimed eighth.
In the latest in a series of races that have looked likely to culminate in a sprint but have instead yielded victories from a breakaway, Rivera spent most of stage 1 of the Ceratizit Challenge in a group of four alongside Reusser, Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM), and Pauliena Rooijakkers (Liv Racing).
As a fast sprinter, Rivera was the favourite to take the win from that small breakaway group.
However, with just over 2km to go, Reusser attacked and time trialled her way to the victory as the three riders behind hesitated and looked to each other to chase, leaving Rivera to settle for second place.
Last week, Rivera was named as one of the riders who will represent Team USA at the upcoming UCI Road World Championships in Flanders at the end of the month.
“Always grateful and honoured to make another World Championship team for USA. My 7th elite World Championship to be exact. Per usual, will do my best to make the Stars and Stripes proud.” Rivera said via Instagram.
If she can carry the same form into the World Championships then the American rider has a good chance at taking the title on a course which suits her strengths.
