Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney blames altitude and climate for ‘weird’ and ‘passive’ World Championships road race

While other riders point fingers at each other for “stupid” tactics and lack of cooperation, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney underlined the role of the altitude and heat in Kigali for what she saw as a “weird” and “passive” World Championships elite road race.

The women’s road race on Saturday saw a surprise winner take the world title, and the big-name favourites did not even compete for the podium, after allowing a late breakaway to build up a big gap that the chasing group simply never closed.