Well that is pretty much it. That was great race but sadly no British winner, although not for want of trying.
Tomorrow it’s the turn of the men and we wait to see if Peter Sagan can make it three rainbow jerseys in a row. Michael Butler is here to guide you through that one.
Thanks for sticking with me, I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did.
Blaak admitted in her post-race interview that Hannah Barnes’ presence in the final seven meant the Dutch team couldn’t wait for the sprint and prompted her winning move.
Barnes, speaking to the BBC: said: “I went hard up Salmon Hill as I knew a strong group would come across. It was so hard with three Dutch riders at the end.
“[Britain] really bonded as a team this week. We can be really proud, we really raced it today.”
Lizzie Deignan added: “I’m so pleased for Chantal. I can’t be too disappointed, we were in every move and we can be really proud.
“My team kept me going. If they weren’t there I might have pulled out.”
Katrin Garfoot (Austrlia) took silver with defending champion Amalie Dideriksen (Denmark) bagging bronze as the peloton came back together towards the line.
Niewiadoma wants silver and attacks but is reeled back in. That move seemed to have distanced Barnes but suddenly she’s right back in there, 2.7km to the line.
Van Vlueten, Van der Breggen, Garfoot and Niewiadoma have attacked from the peloton on the steepest section of Salmon Hill. Deignan hasn’t be able to follow, her race seems up.
Now Van Vlueten, Van der Breggen, Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Pauline Ferrand Prevot are hovering dangerously at the front of the main pack. Deignan and King are still there. The gap is around 40 seconds to the leaders and we have 12km to go.
Barnes is about to hit the final climb of Salmon Hill with Cordon and Blaak. The light is fading in Bergen, giving the TV pictures a dramatic blue hue on the climb, just 14km to go.
Australian Sarah Roy is stuck between the three leaders and the main group. The graphic is saying the break have 30 seconds with 16km to go. Britain’s Hannah Barnes is right up there.
Hannah Barnes has animated this race and she’s off in her second break of the day. Along with Cordon and Blaak, Barnes takes the bell as the race enters its final lap.
Chantal Blaak now flies off the front as Netherlands keep the pressure up. Hannah Barnes goes too, with Audrey Cordon also there. They’ve got nine seconds with 21km to go.
That elite group have eight seconds to the peloton and that’s closing all the time. The talent is there to make this attack stick but it’s too big. They’re all back together now.
With 25km to go, Lizzie Deignan has fought back up to reach Van Vlueten, Van der Breggen and King, what a ride! The rest of the group is made up of Ensing (Netherlands), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Poland), Tatiana Guderzo (Italy), Katrin Garfoot, Amanda Spratt (Australia), Cecilie Ludwig (Denmark), Elise Delzenne (France) and Hanna Nilsson (Sweden).
Annemiek van Vlueten and Anna van der Breggen have gone over now too. It’s looking very orange in that front group. Dani King has held on to this elite attack.
The former Olympic gold medalist makes a rapid burst up the road and Marianne Vos cannot chase her down. Janneke Ensing has to go up the road for the Dutch, she’s joined by Amanda Spratt (USA) and Elise Delzenne (France).
Five British women still in the race as we complete another lap. The smaller nations are trying to test Dutch team, with regular attacks to test the favourites.
Hannah Barnes remains out on the front but she’s been joined by Dutchwoman Luncinda Brand and Australian Grace Elvin. Amy Pieters is still up there too, giving Netherlands two half of the four strong lead group. They have a lead of about 18 seconds as we head under 43km to go.
Elinor Barker has bridged over to the breakaway to give Britain two riders in the break but the gap is shrinking all the time. Down to just 30m on the road.
Italian favourite Longo Borghini rolled through the time check 14 seconds down on the main peloton after what looked like a trip back to the team car. Italy and USA in particular will want to make sure the break does not get too far away with both the Dutch and British team having a woman in it.
The three breakaway riders head up the home straight and into the final three laps of the course. Here’s a little reminder of what the riders are tackling in Bergen:
As news comes in that Italian favourite Giorgia Bronzini has been dropped there is a crash in the main group involving three more Italian, Longo Borghini is amongst them, there was a member of the Dutch team in there too. The USA also look to have lost Megan Guarnier.
Jessy Druyts of Belgium is attended to by medics. Photograph: Ntb Scanpix/Reuters
The Netherlands unleash a quick one-two combination as Ellen van Dijk attacks before Amy Pieters counters once her compatriot was reeled back in. Australi’s Rachel Neyland and Britain’s Hannah Barnes have managed to bridge across the 20 second gap on the climb.
Alice Barnes is having a go off the front as they start the climb up Salmon Hill but is quickly marked by the Dutch. Now Norwegian Susanne Andersen is having a go.
There was a little spill at the back of the peloton, with Norway’s Vita Heine going down. She quickly rejoined the back of the main bunch. Riders are falling off the back are being taken out of the race, no big names so far but Mel Lowther is now starting to lose some ground.
That’s exactly what’s happened. The peloton is all back together as the race passes through the centre of Bergen. The sunshine and the TV pictures are doing the local tourist board all sorts of good. Return flights from London are about £100 apparently, I’m sold.
As the race ticks below the 100km mark there is a little burst of orange off the front and Lucina Brand has gone off after Lowther. You have to think its reduce the onus on the Dutch and with an eye on bringing the race back together.
Lowther’s little tilt off the front does not look like lasting long. Penton has already been sucked back in by the peloton and the 21-year-old Briton has a lead of just 20 seconds.
Lowther, who recently won the British Under 23 race and rides for Team Breeze (British Cycling’s academy team), has ridden past Penton on the ascent of Salmon Hill and is off on her own.
Penton remains 40 seconds off the front of the peloton with Great Britain’s Dani King and Hannah Barnes sitting near the front as the Swede completes the second lap. GB rider Melissa Lowther has headed off in pursuit of Penton and has now joined the leader two form a two woman group.
Less than a month ago Lizzie Deignan was looking very good for a second tilt at the World Championships. A season spent dominating the UCI Women’s Tour alongside side Boels–Dolmans teammate Anna van der Briggen had culminated in victory Grand Prix de Plouay before a near-rupturing of the appendix took the 2015 rainbow jersey winner off the bike and threw her participation into doubt.
She’s in Bergen but whether Deignan now has the legs to compete remains to be seen. The course remains such a mystery as to what kind of race it will produce and whether Deignan can challenge depends partly on what unfolds around her.
Deignan’s colleague Van der Breggen leads an outrageously strong Dutch squad look the team to beat. With Marianne Vos, Annemiek van Vlueten and Ellen van Dijk all riding in support they have almost every tactical eventuality covered. However, they will be a marked team. As the British men found out at the 2012 Olympics, when everyone is so focused on stopping you it can be disastrous, although mercifully Alexander Vinokourov is both retired and the wrong sex to win this race.
Of the other contenders who could take advantage Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini and Belgium’s Jolien D’Hoore are ones to watch.
The race has started in Bergen and the peloton have completed the first of the 19.1km laps of the circuit. Sweden’s Sara Penton is around 40 seconds off the front of the peloton but there are still 127km remaining. So let’s get at it.
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