The Women's road race of the 2018 UCI Road World Championships was a cycling event that took place on 29 September 2018 in Innsbruck, Austria. It was the 58th edition of the event, for which Dutch rider Chantal Blaak was the defending champion, having won in 2017.[2] 149 riders from 48 nations entered the competition.[3]
| 2018 UCI Road World Championships | ||||||||||
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| Race details | ||||||||||
| Dates | 29 September 2018 | |||||||||
| Stages | 1 in Innsbruck, Austria | |||||||||
| Distance | 155.6 km (96.69 mi) | |||||||||
| Winning time | 4h 11' 04"[1] | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
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Blaak surrendered the title to her teammate Anna van der Breggen, the reigning Olympic champion, after attacking on the penultimate ascent of the Aldrans–Lans–Igls climb. Having caught the erstwhile leaders a few kilometres later, van der Breggen soloed away from them not long after. Van der Breggen extended her advantage over the remaining 40 kilometres (25 miles) and continued on to her first world championship title with a winning margin of three minutes and forty-two seconds.[4] Australia's Amanda Spratt managed to remain clear from the breakaway to take Australia's second consecutive silver medal, while Italy's Tatiana Guderzo – the 2009 world champion – completed the podium,[5] attacking on the final lap from a small group; she finished almost five-and-a-half minutes in arrears of van der Breggen.[6]
Course
The race started in Kufstein and headed south-west towards Innsbruck with a primarily rolling route, except for a climb of 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) between Fritzens and Gnadenwald – as had been in the time trial events earlier in the week – with an average 7.1% gradient and maximum of 14% in places.[7] After 84.2 kilometres (52.3 miles), the riders crossed the finish line for the first time, before starting three laps of a circuit 23.8 kilometres (14.8 miles) in length. The circuit contained a climb of 7.9 kilometres (4.9 miles), at an average gradient of 5.9% but reaching 10% in places, from the outskirts of Innsbruck through Aldrans and Lans towards Igls.[8] After a short period of flat roads, the race descended through Igls back towards Innsbruck and the finish line in front of the Tyrolean State Theatre. At 155.6 kilometres (96.7 miles), the 2018 women's road race was the longest in the championships' history, surpassing the previous record of 152.8 kilometres (94.9 miles) in 2017.
Qualification
Qualification was based mainly on the UCI World Ranking by nations as of 12 August 2018. The first five nations in this classification qualified seven riders to start, the next ten nations qualified six riders to start and the next five nations qualified five riders to start.[9] All other nations had the possibility to send three riders to start. In addition to this number, the outgoing World Champion and the current continental champions (for both elite and under-23 riders) were also able to take part.[10]
Continental champions
| Champion | Name | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Outgoing World Champion |  Chantal Blaak (NED) | Competed |
| Asian Champion |  Nguyễn Thị Thật (VIE) | |
| Pan American Champion |  Arlenis Sierra (CUB) | |
| African Champion |  Bisrat Gebremeskel (ERI) | Did not compete |
| Asian Under-23 Champion |  Liu Zixin (CHN) | |
| European Champion |  Marta Bastianelli (ITA) | |
| European Under-23 Champion |  Nikola Nosková (CZE) | |
| Oceanian Champion |  Sharlotte Lucas (NZL) |
UCI World Ranking by Nations
Rankings as at 12 August 2018.
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Participating nations
149 cyclists from 48 nations were entered in the women's road race.[3] The number of cyclists per nation is shown in parentheses.[1]
Albania (1)
Argentina (1)
Australia (7)
Austria (3)
Belgium (6)
Brazil (2)
Canada (6)
Chile (1)
China (1)
Colombia (3)
Croatia (1)
Cuba (2)
Cyprus (1)
Czech Republic (1)
Denmark (6)
Eritrea (1)
Ethiopia (1)
Finland (2)
France (6)
Germany (7)
Great Britain (6)
Greece (1)
Hong Kong (2)
Hungary (1)
Ireland (1)
Israel (2)
Italy (7)
Japan (3)
Kazakhstan (3)
Lithuania (1)
Luxembourg (2)
Netherlands (8)
New Zealand (3)
Norway (5)
Poland (6)
Romania (1)
Russia (5)
Serbia (1)
Slovakia (2)
Slovenia (4)
South Africa (2)
Spain (6)
Sweden (3)
Switzerland (3)
Trinidad and Tobago (1)
Ukraine (3)
United States (7)
Vietnam (1)
Final classification
Of the race's 149 entrants, 81 riders completed the full distance of 155.6 kilometres (96.7 miles).[1]