Elena Cecchini sprinted to fourth place this evening in the twilight Postnord Vårgårda WestSweden road race in Vårgårda, Sweden. Despite an inside line through the final corner, Cecchini was outdone by Marianne Vos (WM3) who stole a clear advantage and went on to take a solo win.

With constant undulations and four gravel sections the race was hotly contested. A flurry of attacks and several different breakaways happened in the second half of the 141km race with the last escapee only being caught cresting the final climb as the front group saw 5km to go.

“The race was hard and fast. A lot of attacks and never an easy moment. Our team raced well. The girls were present in every important move and they tried to create moves for us too,” said a slightly disappointed Cecchini after the finish.

“I just had to follow the best on the climbs and then try to sprint. I was behind Vos in the final kilometre but I took a different wheel before that last corner.”

“On one hand I’m disappointed with the result because I would have loved to step on the podium but on the other hand I’m satisfied with my sprint. I don’t sprint that often and the girls who beat me are quite fast sprinters. I’d like to thank my teammates and our staff for their hard work! We have another chance now in Norway,” hinted Cecchini.

The team now prepares for the newest Women’s WorldTour race, the Ladies Tour of Norway team time trial (TTT). Organisers have separated the TTT from the three-day tour to be a stand-alone one-day race on Thursday 16 August.

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