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Leah Kirchmann 17th ranked in the World Tour heading into Ladies Tour of Norway

Sunweb's Canadian was tenth in Sunday's Vårgårda WestSweden Road Race

Leah Kirchmann

After tenth place in Sunday’s 18th round of the Women’s World Tour, the Vårgårda WestSweden Road Race, Leah Kirchmann is up to 17th in the individual rankings. Sunweb’s Canadian was also part of the squad that earned third in the Vårgårda WestSweden team time trial on Saturday. She takes 400.5 points into Thursday’s four-stage World Tour Ladies Tour of Norway with five rounds to go. Kirchmann was second to Megan Gaurnier in the first edition of the World Tour in 2016.

Trek-Segafredo continued its fine inaugural season by winning the Vårgårda WestSweden team time trial, 25-seconds faster than Canyon-SRAM. Sunweb was a further 21-seconds behind. Trek is third in the World Tour team standings with Boels-Dolmans top, and its best individual rider is Elisa Longo Borghini, who triumphed in the four-stage Emakumeen Euskal Bira.

In the Vårgårda WestSweden road race Kirchmann finished in a small group three seconds behind winner Marta Bastianelli, as Team Virtu’s Italian rider took her 2019 World Tour one-day race tally to three. Bastianelli is fourth in the individual standings.

Reigning Ladies Tour of Norway champion Marianne Vos has a chance to take over the top of the World Tour individual standings from Annemiek van Vleuten after placing second to van Vleuten last year. In 2018 Vos swept the stages to take the crown. Last season’s Tour of Norway runner-up Emilia Fahlin isn’t lining up Thursday in Åsgårdstrand, but third place Coryn Rivera, Kirchmann’s American teammate, is back.

Kirchmann and Lucinda Brand are Sunweb’s top WorldTour point winners so far. Kirchmann’s greatest result of the season is second place at La Tour by Le Tour de France.

Alison Jackson, runner-up of the recent UCI 2.1-rated Tour of Scotland, is another Canadian at the Tour of Norway. Jackson came ninth on GC last season. Karol-Ann Canuel reps for Boels-Dolmans and Rally sends Sarah Bergen, Gillian Ellsay and Katherine Maine.