Belgian Lotte Kopecky repeated herself as world champion in the road race on Saturday in a sprint finish of six cyclists in rainy Zurich.
Kopecky, 28, had the upper hand after more than four hours of riding around a 95-mile course. She became the first woman to become world champion again since Marianne Vos of the Netherlands in 2012 and 2013.
Kopecky began her winners interview by offering condolences to the family of Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer, who died Friday, a day after suffering a head injury in a crash during the junior road race at Worlds.
“A minute’s silence at the start, seeing the Swiss riders cry, you just don’t want to see that,” said Kopecky.
American Chloé Dygert took silver in the same time as Kopecky – 4:05:26 – a bike length behind the Belgian, after yo-yoing from the back of the leading group in the final kilometers.
Dygert, who won time trial bronze last Sunday, became the first American man or woman to win a world medal in both the road race and the time trial. She also won time trial gold in 2019 and 2023.
Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini took her fifth bronze medal in the road race between the Olympic Games and the world championships.
Kopecky won bronze in the Olympic road race that American Kristen Faulkner won in Paris on August 4. Faulkner finished 35th on Saturday.
The World Cup ends on Sunday with the men’s road race in Zurich, in which Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel of Belgium and three-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia are looking for his first world title.
2024 UCI Road World Championships results
Gold: Lotte Kopecky (BEL) — 4:05:26
Silver: Chloe Dygert (USA) — +0
Bronze: Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) — +0
4. Liane Lippert (DU) — +0
5. Demi Vollering (NED) — +0
6. Ruby Roseman-Gannon (AUS) — +0
7. Justine Ghekiere (BEL) — +1:06
8. Marianne Vos (NED) — +1:06
9. Riejanne Markus (NED) — +1:06
10. Blanka Vas (HUN) — +3:00
35. Kristen Faulkner (USA) — +10:10
