La Course 2019 result: Marianne Vos stuns Amanda Spratt to clinch victory after late burst

The Australian Spratt had been leading after a long solo attack and looked set to earn the biggest win of her career, but she faltered on the final gruelling climb

Marianne Vos celebrates as she crosses the finish line (Reuters)

The great Marianne Vos burst past Amanda Spratt in a stunning late surge to win La Course for the second time.

The Australian Spratt had been leading after a long solo attack and looked set to earn the biggest win of her career, but she faltered on the final gruelling climb as Vos zipped past and gave in. Canada’s Leah Kirchmann finished second, with the popular Dane Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig third.

It was a typically well-timed assault by Vos, who won the first La Course in 2015 and now matches her Dutch compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten with two La Course titles. She produced similar eye-catching surges at the Giro Rosa earlier this month where she won four of the 10 stages.

“When I saw it came down, on the climb, I knew I had the legs,” she said afterwards. ”I feel really good, I came with good motivation out of the Giro Rosa. It’s a very special feeling.”

Britain’s Lizzie Deignan was still working her way back to full speed after taking time out of the sport to give birth last year, and battled mechanical problems including a puncture as she finished 77th.

The race, a one-day event every year except 2017, remains a controversial format, with Tour de France organisers ASO accused of making only a token effort as it plays second fiddle to the Tour stage on the same day.

“It’s stagnated, probably,” Deignan said. “We’re obviously not moving forward, it’s still one day, but it’s not going backwards. It’s got its place in the calendar and we take advantage of the platform it gives us, the media that are here, and take the positives from it. That’s all we can do really.”