Olympics: Swiss women struggle in road race

Schnorf leads the way for Switzerland with Brändli in pursuit Keystone

Switzerland's women cyclists have made a disappointing start to the first of the Olympic road events. Amateur cyclist Yvonne Schnorf was the best-placed Swiss in ninth.

Zurich’s Nicole Brändli had been tipped before the race as one of the young hopefuls with an outside chance of a medal. But the former junior world champion saw her plans literally washed away by the heavy Sydney rain.

A cyclist who performs at her best in warm and dry conditions, Brändli said after the race that the weather had hampered her intentions to break away from the pack in the closing stages.

If there were Olympic medals for bad luck, canton Zug’s Priska Doppmann would surely have found herself on the podium. The 29-year-old rider suffered two flat tyres within the space of 10 kilometres, eventually crossing the line in 32nd place.

“It was a real shame,” Doppmann said after the race, “because I was feeling in good form. But I have to get over this disappointment. In October I’ll have another chance at the world championships.”

Schnorf also expressed disappointment at narrowly missing out on an Olympic diploma, awarded to athletes who finish in the top eight of any Olympic discipline, but she was also pleasantly surprised to have finished top among the Swiss riders.

The 35-year-old insisted that her amateur status did not make her any less of a competitor. “My opponents have a little more time to recover than me. But I train just as much as any of them,” she argued.

As the Swiss came to terms with their disappointment there was jubilation for Leontien Zijlaard of the Netherlands. The Dutch rider out-sprinted the field and outshone the weather to take gold at the end of the gruelling 119-kilometre course.

It was Ziljaard’s third medal of the Games, following her gold and silver medals in the track cycling events. Germany’s Hanka Kupfernagel was second across the line in the road race, with Lithuania’s Diana Ziliute taking bronze.

swissinfo with agencies