Demi Vollering’s world title followed by UCI sanction over riding position

The newly crowned world champion was also docked 25 UCI points after race commissaires penalised her for using an unauthorised position or point of support on the bike.

The official jury report does not specify when the infringement occurred or provide further details about the position that led to the sanction.

Austria’s Katharina Sadnik received the same punishment for the same offence.

The sanction had no bearing on the result, with Vollering having claimed the rainbow jersey on Saturday after an aggressive and unpredictable finale to the 180 kilometre elite women’s road race in Montréal.

She launched a solo attack with 38 kilometres remaining and initially looked capable of staying clear, before a chase led by Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney and Elisa Longo Borghini brought her back with just over 15 kilometres to race.

Longo Borghini then attacked at the start of the final lap, forcing Vollering to respond once again. The Dutch rider closed the gap on the final ascent of Camillien Houde, where she and Niewiadoma Phinney moved clear of the remaining contenders.

The pair stayed together into the final kilometres before Niewiadoma Phinney opened the sprint with around 200 metres remaining. Vollering came past in the closing metres to secure her first elite road race world title, with Longo Borghini finishing third, four seconds behind.

The victory added another major result to an already remarkable season. Vollering won La Flèche Wallonne and a record third Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the spring, before claiming her second Tour de France Femmes title in August with three stage wins.