Marta Bastianelli of Italy shot from the leading group on the final lap to stage a solo victory in the women's road race at the World Championships today.
The 20-year-old Bastianelli got clear with 15km to go and held off the pack to complete the 133.7 km, over seven laps in Stuttgart, in three hours, 46 minutes 34 seconds to take the rainbow jersey.
'The attack wasn't planned,' Bastianelli told reporters after her spectacular escape on the punishing course. 'I just went for it because I knew I'd have no chance in a bunch sprint.'
Defending champion Marianne Vos of the Netherlands won a sprint for second ahead of the Italian Giorgia Bronzini in third as the chasing riders came in six seconds behind the winner.
The rainbow jersey in the men's Under-23 race went to Peter Velits of Slovakia, who edged out the Australian Wesley Sulzberger and Britain's Jonathan Bellis in a mass sprint.
Velits finished the nine laps of the men's course in 4:21:22 to claim the rainbow jersey, with the leading trio just avoiding a crash that knocked the Swiss rider Martin Kohler off his bike and accounted for a handful of others.
The women's race was dominated by Italians. The first serious break came from Noemi Cantele, who picked herself up from a nasty crash and joined the American Amber Neben in an escape with two laps to go.
Cantele lost almost a minute when she was one of around a dozen women who fell when the wind blew down an advertising barrier right in front of the riders.
She fought her way back to the front and with Neben built a lead of over 20 seconds before they were caught by the bunch.
Bastianelli's successful escape surprised everyone, including herself, especially as she had to put a loose chain back in place as she closed in on victory.
'I started believing it was possible with 5 km to go, but only because my team manager was telling me the victory was on,' she said.
'He told me not to panic when the chain came loose and when I saw the finishing line I knew it was mine.'
The elite men's race closes the championships tomorrow.
