Marianne Vos, shown here winning Centrumcross, took the top podium in Rome © Thomas van Bracht
ROME, ITALY – On a beautiful, sunny day, World Champion Marianne Vos (Rabobank-Giant) launched a searing attack on Katie Compton (Trek) after the the duo stormed away from the rest of the riders on a course that was more criterium than cyclocross to take the seventh round of the World Cup series. Vos opened the race with an explosive start that only Compton was able to match, though Sanne van Paassen (Rabobank) managed to briefly bring the two back into the fold before Compton took to the front and hit the gas, dislodging all but the World Champion from her wheel. Compton led the middle laps, hoping to power away from the Dutch rider, but Vos bade her time on the dry, flat, grass-and-light-sand terrain held on a race track before sprinting around the American champion with such ferocity with three to go that Compton had no response. Though Compton tried to reel the World Champion back in, the gap, once established, never diminished. Compton finished 24 seconds down, comfortably securing her World Cup overall – the first ever by an Elite American – with 390 points to Nikki Harris’ 254. Compton can now safely skip the final World Cup in Hoogerheide.
“I had a good start,” said Vos. “Katie passed me in the first lap and kept the pace really high. Katie was really strong, I knew I couldn’t make any mistakes. I waited for a moment.”
Vos, who is one of the most decorated cyclists of her generation, had tweeted earlier in the day of the complications of being a multi-discipline world champion: “Nearly took the wrong kit for the WC Rome. What a ‘problem’ if you can take the wrong rainbow jersey; road instead of cx. Fast course it is!”
Katerina Nash (Luna) launched a solo pursuit of the two leaders and spent the majority of the race on her own, staving off a group containing Sanne van Paassen, Helen Wyman, Lucie Chainel-Lefevre, Sanne Cant and Sabrina Stultiens. A late charge by van Paassen and Cant in the final laps looked like it might bring Nash back into the fold, but Nash held off the pursuit and crossed the line in third. Van Paassen came in for fourth. American Amy Dombroski finished in 16th.
2013 World Cup Rome Elite Women
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Result |
| 1 | Marianne VOS | NED | 39:38:00 |
| 2 | Katherine COMPTON | USA | 40:02:00 |
| 3 | Katerina NASH | CZE | 40:46:00 |
| 4 | Sanne VAN PAASSEN | NED | 40:53:00 |
| 5 | Sanne CANT | BEL | 41:00:00 |
| 6 | Helen WYMAN | GBR | 41:15:00 |
| 7 | Sabrina STULTIENS | NED | 41:24:00 |
| 8 | Lucie CHAINEL-LEFEVRE | FRA | 41:26:00 |
| 9 | Ellen VAN LOY | BEL | 41:40:00 |
| 10 | Eva LECHNER | ITA | 41:41:00 |
| 11 | Julie KRASNIAK | FRA | 41:43:00 |
| 12 | Nikki HARRIS | GBR | 41:43:00 |
| 13 | Annefleur KALVENHAAR | NED | 42:03:00 |
| 14 | Christel FERRIER-BRUNEAU | FRA | 42:06:00 |
| 15 | Jasmin ACHERMANN | SUI | 42:13:00 |
| 16 | Amy DOMBROSKI | USA | 42:33:00 |
| 17 | Valentina SCANDOLARA | ITA | 42:47:00 |
| 18 | Pavla HAVLIKOVA | CZE | 42:53:00 |
| 19 | Elena VALENTINI | ITA | 43:10:00 |
| 20 | Joyce VANDERBEKEN | BEL | 43:22:00 |
| 21 | Francesca CUCCINIELLO | ITA | 43:29:00 |
| 22 | Gabriella DAY | GBR | 43:43:00 |
| 23 | Alice Maria ARZUFFI | ITA | 44:11:00 |
| 24 | Reza HORMES | NED | 44:25:00 |
| 25 | Martina MIKULASKOVA | CZE | 45:02:00 |
| 26 | Francesca CAUZ | ITA | 45:19:00 |
| 27 | Suzie GODART | LUX | 45:20:00 |
| 28 | Alessia BULLERI | ITA | |
| 29 | Margriet Helena KLOPPENBURG | DEN | |
| 30 | Nancy BOBER | BEL | |
IN THE COWBELL FORUMS:
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