The Womens Road Race Cycling event takes place on the first Sunday (7th July) of the 2016 Olympic Games. They use the same course as the men but the distance is much shorter. The 2016 games are the 9th time this event has been contested.
Recent Winners
2000 – SYDNEY – Leontien Zijlaard – Netherlands
2004 – ATHENS – Sara Carrigan – Australia
2008 – BEIJING – Nicole Cooke – Great Britain
2012 – LONDON – Marianne Vos – Netherlands
Marianne Vos is the only previous winner competing in Rio. Similar to the men, the women have not raced on this Rio course so there is no course history to use as a guide.
The Route and Profile
The Womens Road Race is on the same roads as the mens race but is shorter at 141kms.
The race begins at Copacabana and heads for the Grumari circuit. The women complete two laps of this circuit which feature the Grumari climb – 1.2 kilometres at 7% and the Grota Funda climb – 2.1 kilometres at 4.5%.
There is then a flatter section along the coast as the women head towards the other circuit on the course. This is the much tougher Canoas/Vista Circuit. 
The women only have to ride this section once. It features the Canoas climb then the Vista Chinesa climb over 8.9km uphill. This is followed by a technical descent of 6km.
The women then will race for the finish line and glory.
Medal Contenders
I will preface this by stating my knowledge of women’s cycling is not great. I will tip a couple of women but only small stakes.
Like the mens race we need to look at the women who can get over the climbs on the circuit and handle the climate.
Anna Van Der Breggen (NED) is favourite to win Gold. She won the One Day Classic – La Fleche Wallonie, which features similar terrain to the Rio course. You can back her at 4.33 – a price that means you have to go win only.
Second favourite is Lizzie Armitstead (GBR) – the reigning World Champion and World Number One womans cyclist. She has a huge number of wins in the 2016 season and should be race favourite on form. There is the not so little matter of the ‘missed drugs tests’ that have clouded her participation. As it stands she will compete and at 5.50 is a huge price. My own opinion is that she should be banned, whether there is an appeal against her participation remains to be seen. It looks like the fallout from the ‘missed tests’ has had a huge impact on Armistead. She was interviewed last night and was distraught. I’m not sure that she will have the right mental state to win if she does participate.
Marianne Vos (NED) is defending champion. Her Palmarès is ridiculous – 3 x Road World Champion and 7 times World Cyclocross Champion are the headliners. She is the best cyclist of the 21st Century but is probably a little past her best. Vos does climb as well as anyone and is joint 3rd favourite at 6.00. She might be worth an EW bet especially with the issues Armistead is facing.
The best of the US riders appears to be Megan Guarnier. She won the 2016 Giro d’Italia and Tour of California and is a great climber. The course suits her and she might be the closest challenger to Armistead and has value at 6.00.
Emma Johansson (Sweden) won silver in Beijing. She too excels on this type of course but she has been beaten by Armistead regularly in the 2016 season. I can see this being repeated in Rio but you can back her at 8.00.
One other rider that I like is Emma Pooley (GBR). Pooley on her best form is an exceptional climber. Pooley retired in 2014 but has returned this year to top level cycling. Her form has improved throughout the year and she should go well on the hills. Of the outsiders she has an interesting price at 34.0 for a small EW bet.
Womens Road Race Tips
Back Marianne Vos to win with a 1.0/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 3) at 7.50 with Ladbrokes.
Back her here:
Bet on Megan Guarnier to win with a 1.5/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 3) at 8.00 with Boylesports.
Back her here:
