Close to an hour of cat-and-mouse racing delivered the athletes to the final hurrah in the women’s event at the Rome World Cup.
Over a high-paced Sprint distance race, several athletes rose through the field and new faces looked like candidates for the win at different stages. From the off, a small group broke away from the field.
Another virtuoso performance in the water by Bianca Seregni saw her splinter the field. A select group of Jolien Vermeylen, Olivia Mathias, Mathilde Gautier and Alice Betto. Once Betto exited, some 5 seconds down on Seregni, there was a wait of almost 20 seconds for the next athlete to emerge.
With the experience of Betto and the strength of Gautier and Mathias on the bike, the lead quintet seemed primed to stay clear. However, their initial good work was undermined as Betto crashed. Seregni slipped back too, leaving three at the front.
Further back, the likes of Nina Eim, Cathia Schär and Marlene Gomez-Göggel were motoring as part of a powerful chase group. With a pack of eighteen lining up the lead trio after smaller groups merged, the gap soon began to dwindle.
Jessica Fullagar and Lotte Miller, both renowned for their abilities on the bike, hacked chunks of time from the lead with big turns. Likewise Maya Kingma and Noelia Juan worked well in the chase pack.
As she had a week prior at the Tangier World Cup, Gautier sought to defend her lead as part of the breakaway three. The European Super Sprint champion dropped some major turns at the front to hold the chasers at bay and was ably supported by Mathias.
Gradually, though, the numbers in the chase pack told.
The seconds came down and the leaders were soon within grasping distance. Another final push from the leaders, however, saw them hold onto a crucial 10 seconds as they arrived into T2.
Gautier lost time in transition and it was Vermeylen that hit the lead on the run. Behind her, a large pack had formed and was gathering momentum.
Eim, Schär and Gomez-Göggel made their way towards the front and gained on Vermeylen. So too did Juan and Merle. Although Vermeylen ran at full tilt, her efforts in the breakaway began to tell and her stride shortened.
Sensing their chance, Eim, Schär and Gomez-Göggel stepped into a new gear and caught the Belgian leader. Vermeylen tried to respond. Yet there was nothing left in reserve.
A small nudge from Schär hinted that she had the energy left for a final kick to the line. Then Gomez-Göggel took her turn to increase the tempo. Throughout it all, Eim remained composed.
She took over the lead of the race and forced her two rivals to match her pace. They seemed to be able to do so but then Eim launched her final move and burned away.
As she hit the blue carpet there was nothing to stop her and Eim careered over the line to claim a maiden World Cup win. Having also qualified for the Olympic Games earlier in the summer, it capped a brilliant season for the German athlete.
Making it a German 1-2, Gomez-Göggel was the next over the line. She therefore claimed a third World Cup medal since the start of September. Schär then took the bronze medal.
Coming home in 4th place, just as she had in Tangier a week prior, was Vermeylen. In the end, the bronze medal eluded her by 8 seconds. A further 8 seconds back was Juan as the Spanish athlete rounded out the top-5.
You can view the full results here.
