2013 road world championships: Dane triumphs in junior women’s race, Slovenian takes under-23 men’s title

Amalie Diderickson of Denmark won the junior women’s title Friday at the road world championships in Tuscany, Italy, taking the sprint among three leftovers from a five-woman breakaway. In the under-23 men’s race, Slovenian Matej Mohoric – last year’s junior champion – soloed to victory at the end of a competitive contest.

Diderickson escaped with Anastasia Iakovenko (Russia), Olena Demydova (Ukraine), Jessenia Meneses Gonzalez (Colombia) and German Anna Knauer early in the 82-km race and had a two-minute lead more than halfway through the five 16.6-km laps around Florence.

However, Knauer suffered on the climbs and was tailed off on the final lap. On the final climb up the Via Salviati, Gonzalez was taken out of the picture by a cruelly timed mechanical. This left a trio to contest the win as the peloton failed to reel them in. Demydova put in the early pull, but Diderickson’s timing and power was perfect to take the title. Iakovenko, fifth in the junior women’s time trial, was third. Tessa Pinckston of Canada was 49th, her compatriot Kinley Gibson two places behind in 51st, and Marie-Eve Poisson did not finish.

Later in the day, the under-23 men tackled the finishing circuit seven times after a 57-km ride into Florence from Montecatini Terme. An early breakaway of six riders led into Florence but were brought to heel on the third from last lap.

Another break formed but the climbs doomed it. Soon, there was only Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe remaining until Mohoric bridged over. Mohoric eventually lit out on his own, joined later by South African Louis Meintjes, but the Slovenian shed his breakmate while descending like the devil.

The 18-year-old Mohoric, who not only took last year’s junior road title but also garnered silver in 2012’s junior time trial, could barely believe his fortune, and celebrated so early Meintjes closed in on him before the line. The South African had to be happy with a hard fought runner-up spot. Out of the peloton Norwegian Sondre Enger sprinted to bronze. Canadian Antoine Duchesne placed 46th, 2:33 behind Mohoric.