Vargarda Team Time Trial - Road Race and Plouay-Bretagne final wrap up

World Champions retain TTT World Cup title Specialized-lululemon scored a psychological victory over their nearest rivals on Friday night. In cool, windy, but dry conditions, the 2012 winners in both this World Cup event and the World Championships rode steadily and to their own strategy to win again in Vargarda in 2013. Reversing the result of the other podium positions in 2012, Rabo Women took second place. They beat Orica-AIS into third place. The Rabo Women squad included Marianne Vos, who is also the leader of the individual World Cup competition. She consequently extended her advantage over Swedish time trial Champion, Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS), by 5 points, she leads with a total 77 points more than Johansson's total. UCI president presents Marianne Vos with her leader's jersey in Vargarda Description: Marianne Vos took a sprint victory in Vargarda from Swedish Champion (and local favourite), Emma Johansson and Amy Pieters. The win seals the World Cup title overall for the Dutchwoman, she now has an unassailable lead with one round remaining. On a day when the racing was highly competitive throughout, there was no clear indication of who might take the win until the sprint. There were several significant attacks earlier in the race, firstly from Specialized-lululemon's Trixi Worrack, who made a solo attack which lasted about 15 kilometres. Later, notably, Loes Gunnewijk and Roxanne Knetemann worked together to gain almost 1 minute 30 seconds on a chasing group. Their attack was undone by an attempt by Cecile Johnsen to chase. She got to within 18 seconds of the pair in a desperate attempt to bridge the gap. More importantly, the chasers were able to catch her and then counterattack to bring back the two leaders. The efforts at the front of the race put the main bunch back at over 3 minutes deficit with 35 kilometres left to race. In the closing 25 kilometres, a group of would-be contenders for victory formed, with some of their team-mates dropping back and out of the group, "job done". The wind had been increasing steadily during the afternoon and the final five kilometres of the eleven kilometre lap were particularly exposed to a cross-headwind. That made any final attacks from the group likely to be unsuccessful. A group sprint seemed on the cards. There was a scare for Marianne Vos entering the final lap, however, when she punctured. With no team-car behind, only neutral service, she decided to ride on the softening tyre and wait for her team support. The World Cup leader chased back into the group very quickly and rejoined in time for an unsuccessful attack by Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-lululemon) on the final climb. The group went into the finale together and tactician, Vos, led through the final corner, ahead of Johansson and Pieters. There was no doubt about her sprint and the reigning World, Olympic and now 2013 World Cup Champion had time to raise her arms to celebrate her victory. Vos finishes with victory in France Despite mathematically having won the 2013 competition before she even started in Plouay, Dutchwoman, Marianne Vos, took her fifth World Cup race win of the season to ensure that nobody could be in any doubt -- she is the World Cup Champion. The final round took place, as in previous years, in Plouay, with the competitors racing 5 laps of a 27 kilometre circuit which was only a little different to the one used in 2012. Despite a few attempts to break away in the first four laps, nothing really stayed away. Jasmin Glaesser did manage to get an advantage on the peloton after three and a half laps and she led for the penultimate time up the climb at Minojenn du Calvaire. But she served merely as a springboard for the group which caught her and counterattacked on Cote de Ty-Marrec with just over a lap, 32 kilometres remaining. The five who got away were undoubtedly the final selection -- Vos, Emma Johansson, Anna van der Breggen, Alena Amialiusik and Karol-Ann Canuel. So it began, the wait for Vos to make her move; the others attacked and tried to get the best of the World and Olympic Champion. Indeed, Amialiusik tried to go solo, but the Dutchwoman was on superb form and all attempts were swept up by Vos and the group. In the end, she rode away from the others on and raced up the finishing straight alone, surrounded not by competitors but by race motorbikes. Vos didn't let up her effort until she was almost at the line, then she took a long, cherished, victory salute to complete her 2013 world Cup campaign. Emma Johansson powered ahead of Anna van der Breggen to take second. Johansson thereby secured her second place overall in the World Cup too, ahead of Ellen van Dijk (Specialized-lululemon), who was not in Plouay. Rabo Women took the team competition in the World Cup.