UEC European Championships: Azzura Ballan masters a four woman sprint to take the Junior Women’s title

After the group formed on the second of three laps around the Slovenian town of Šenčur, the Germans were ideally placed, with Leni Burger also in the leading quartet, but despite Burger’s lead out, Dworatzek was unable to hold off the others.

Latest Videos FromCyclingnews

Only in its fifth edition, the Junior women’s race at the UEC European Road Championships took place on the same circuit used for the other races this week, though this time the riders tackled the 22km lap three times. The Možjanca climb once again proved decisive, its brutal slopes way into double digit gradients, the staging point, the race splitting the first time up, a small group getting away.

Naxara Odriozola (Spain), Azzurra Ballan (Italy), Morgane Lestrade (France) and the German pair of Leni Burger and Klara Dworatek finished the first lap leading a lone chaser by almost a minute. Next time around that lead has extended, though Odriozola was by then dropped and was chasing with Dutch rider Jade Zijlstra 1:30 down.

You may like

The final ascent of the climb proved too much for the two Germans, pressure form Lestrade seeing both lose contact, though they were still just about within touching distance at the top, and the quartet reformed on the ensuing plateau. On both the climb and the descent a chasing group began to take time out of the leading group, but such was their advantage they were set to contest the win.