Matilde Rossignoli, silver medalist in the sprint finish of the junior women’s road race

Matilde Rossignoli won the silver medal in the Junior Women’s Road Race at the World Championships in Montreal, following a brilliant performance in which she stood out especially during the decisive phase. The title went to Spain’s Alejandra Neira, who outpaced the Italian and Switzerland’s Anja Grossmann in the final sprint.

The 18-year-old from Salizzole didn’t just wait for the sprint. When the race heated up, she was among the key riders in the breakaway that brought a trio to the front—a trio that would ultimately battle for the title alongside Poland’s Maria Okrucińska (Poland) and the Dutch rider Mirthe Mons, who rejoined the breakaway just before the final kilometer.

The Italian appeared to be among the strongest on the final stretch but started her sprint too early and was overtaken by the Spaniard in the final meters. Was it a silver medal won or a gold medal lost? “I do have a few regrets, because I could have set up a shorter sprint. But I’m thrilled with second place, because it’s a wonderful result. We started with a hundred riders, and making it onto the podium is fantastic.”

Matilde then described the finish this way: “We worked together a bit, and in the last three kilometers, Maria and another rider moved back to the front. At that point, the sprint got a little frantic, because there were five of us and maybe we waited a little too long. In the end, the strongest rider won.”

Behind the group that battled for the medals, Azzurra Ballan finished in 18th place, 1’40” back, while Giorgia Pellizotti was 22nd, 1’42” back. Junior women’s results: Maria Acuti did not finish the race. Junior women’s results.