Race Preview: Prudential Ride London Classique

On Saturday 3rd August the fastest riders in the women’s peloton will descend on central London to do battle in the Prudential RideLondon Classique.

Womens UCI World Tour

Now in its 4th year the UCI Womens World Tour has expanded to include 23 races across 3 continents. The Prudential RideLondon Classique has been a key race on the schedule since the World Tour’s inception and stands as just one of a select number of events that truly favours the pure sprinters. 16 rounds in and we have witnessed some fantastic racing– from the nail-biting finish of La Course to the crosswinds and cobbles of Ronde Van Drenthe – and the remaining races on the calendar are also poised to bring further excitement.

The purple leader’s jersey has been firmly on the shoulders of Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) since her emphatic solo win at Liege-Bastogne-Liege back in April. With victory at the Giro last month, where she displayed absolute dominance in the mountains, van Vleuten has consolidated her lead in the rankings and now sits comfortably in pole position with 1367 points. Nearest rival Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) is on 1106 but with the pair choosing to skip the Classique (presumably in favour of preparation for the Scandanvian block of racing later in the month) the standings at the top of the rankings will remain unchanged for now.

Marianne Vos (CCC Liv), lying in 3rd , will however look to take advantage of their absence and use the opportunity to reduce the gap to the two climbers. She currently has a deficit of 419 points to van Vleuten so although she will be unable to dislodge her fellow Dutch woman from the top spot this weekend she may will position herself to be within striking distance of the purple jersey.

In the youth ranking Marta Cavalli (Valcar Cylance) holds a 10 point lead over Lorena Wiebes (Parkhotel Valkenburg) who will look to claw back ground over the Italian this weekend with Cavalli also opting to forego the ‘sprinters race’. With only 6 points available for the first U23 rider, the jersey won’t exchange hands in London, but Wiebes could be nipping on the rear wheel of Cavalli by the time the World Tour peloton arrives in Sweden.

Although neither leader’s jersey will be on display this weekend, the race will still be an exciting and competitive affair as the Classique has again attracted a star-studded field with a wealth of sprinting talent.

The Classique

Starting and finishing on the iconic Mall, the peloton will race a tight 3.4km circuit 20 times, covering a total distance of 68km. The shortest and flattest race on the calander will see the fastest finishers in the peleton compete for the richest one day prize pot.

In the race’s 6 year history only Kirsten Wild has managed to secure two victories and no doubt the defending champion, now riding for the German outfit of WNT-Rotor, will be looking to make it a hat trick of wins. With trusted leadout rider Brennauer also taking to the start, she will fancy her chances of being delivered in prime position to out-power her rivals over a long sprint.

Sunweb’s Coryn Rivera, winner of the 2017 edition, will also be looking to take her first victory of the season but the Californian will be up against her fellow fast finishing compatriot Kendall Ryan of Team Tibco Silicon Valley Bank.

They’ll however have to fend off challenges from the peloton’s sprinting stalwarts – Vos and Hoskings. Vos who is in scintillating form having taken 4 stage wins at the Giro and clinching the title at La Course will be looking to add another victory to her growing 2019 tally. Meanwhile Hoskings who skipped the Giro and opted for an altitude camp will be looking to reap the rewards of her hard training block by cementing her reputation as the peloton’s fastest finisher.

From stalwarts to young-guns; Parkhotel Valkenburg will also be hoping their sprinter Lorena Wiebes can continue her brilliant run of form and once again demonstrate her sprinting prowess. The young 20 year Dutch rider has had a stellar season thus far, recently taking big wins at both the Dutch National Championships and European Championships. Wiebes isn’t the only youngster to watch out for though, the two Italians Paternoster (Trek Segafredo) and Balsamo (Valcar Cylance) could also pose a threat in what is usually a chaotic final.

A fast and furious race, this year’s edition looks set for to be another great sprinting showdown.

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