# 2015 UCI Road World Championships – Women's road race

The Women's road race of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships took place in and around Richmond, Virginia, United States on September 26, 2015. The course of the race was 129.6 km (80.5 mi) with the start and finish in Richmond. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was the defending champion, having won the world title in 2014.
In a sprint finish of a select group of nine riders, Great Britain's Lizzie Armitstead added the rainbow jersey to her UCI Women's Road World Cup overall victory, out-sprinting Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen by just over a wheel's length. The podium was completed by home rider Megan Guarnier, the first American to podium in the event since 1994.

## Qualification

Qualification was based mainly on the 2015 UCI Nation Ranking as of August 15, 2015. The first five nations in this classification qualified seven riders to start, the next ten nations qualified six riders to start and the next five nations qualified five riders to start. Other nations and non ranked nations had the possibility to send three riders to start.
* Netherlands (7)
* Italy (7)
* United States (7)
* Germany (7)
* Australia (7)
* France (6)
* Belgium (6)
* Great Britain (6)
* Sweden (6)
* Poland (6)
* Canada (6)
* South Africa (6)
* Belarus (6)
* Ukraine (6)
* Russia (6)
* Luxembourg (5)
* New Zealand (5)
* Finland (5)
* Brazil (5)
* Norway (5)
* Other nations (3)
Moreover, the outgoing World Champion and continental champions were also able to take part in the race on top of the nation numbers.
| Champion | Name | Note |
| Outgoing World Champion | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) | |
| African Champion | Ashleigh Moolman (RSA) | |
| European Champion (under-23) | Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL) | |
| Pan American Champion | Marlies Mejías (CUB) | Did not participate |
| Asian Champion | Ting Ying Huang (TPE) | Did not participate |
| Oceanian Champion | Lauren Kitchen (AUS) | |

## Course

The women rode eight laps on the road race circuit. The length of the circuit was 16.2 km (10.1 mi) and had a total elevation of 103 meters (338 feet). All road races took place on a challenging, technical and inner-city road circuit. The circuit headed west from Downtown Richmond, working its way onto Monument Avenue, a paver-lined, historic boulevard that's been named one of the "10 Great Streets in America". Cyclists took a 180-degree turn at the Jefferson Davis monument and then maneuvered through the Uptown district and Virginia Commonwealth University. Halfway through the circuit, the race headed down into Shockoe Bottom before following the canal and passing Great Shiplock Park, the start of the Virginia Capital Trail. A sharp, off-camber turn at Rockets Landing brought the riders to the narrow, twisty, cobbled 200 meters (660 feet) climb up to Libby Hill Park in the historic Church Hill neighborhood. A quick descent, followed by three hard turns led to a 100 meters (330 feet) climb up 23rd Street. Once atop this steep cobbled hill, riders descended into Shockoe Bottom. This led them to the final 300 meters (980 feet) climb on Governor Street. At the top, the riders had to take a sharp left turn onto the false-flat finishing straight, 680 meters (2,230 feet) to the finish.

## Schedule

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).
| Date | Time | Event |
| September 26, 2015 | 13:00–16:25 | Women's road race |

## Participating nations

135 cyclists from 46 nations took part in the women's road race. The numbers of cyclists per nation are shown in parentheses.
* Australia (8)
* Austria (2)
* Belgium (6)
* Belarus (1)
* Canada (5)
* Chile (1)
* Colombia (3)
* Costa Rica (1)
* Czech Republic (1)
* Denmark (2)
* Ecuador (1)
* Spain (3)
* Finland (2)
* France (7)
* Great Britain (6)
* Germany (7)
* Guam (1)
* Ireland (2)
* Israel (1)
* Italy (7)
* Japan (1)
* Kazakhstan (1)
* Latvia (1)
* Lithuania (2)
* Luxembourg (1)
* Mexico (2)
* Mongolia (1)
* Netherlands (7)
* Norway (4)
* New Zealand (3)
* Poland (7)
* Portugal (1)
* Puerto Rico (1)
* South Africa (3)
* Russia (6)
* Rwanda (1)
* Saint Kitts and Nevis (1)
* Slovenia (2)
* Serbia (1)
* Switzerland (3)
* Slovakia (1)
* Sweden (4)
* Thailand (2)
* Ukraine (4)
* United States (7)
* Venezuela (1)

## Final classification

Of the race's 135 entrants, 88 riders completed the full distance of 129.6 km (80.5 mi).
| Rank | Rider | Country | Time |
| 1 | Lizzie Armitstead | Great Britain | 3h 23' 56" |
| 2 | Anna van der Breggen | Netherlands | s.t. |
| 3 | Megan Guarnier | United States | s.t. |
| 4 | Elisa Longo Borghini | Italy | s.t. |
| 5 | Emma Johansson | Sweden | s.t. |
| 6 | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot | France | s.t. |
| 7 | Katarzyna Niewiadoma | Poland | s.t. |
| 8 | Alena Amialiusik | Belarus | s.t. |
| 9 | Jolanda Neff | Switzerland | s.t. |
| 10 | Ellen van Dijk | Netherlands | + 9" |
| 11 | Joëlle Numainville | Canada | + 9" |
| 12 | Trixi Worrack | Germany | + 9" |
| 13 | Karol-Ann Canuel | Canada | + 9" |
| 14 | Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio | South Africa | + 9" |
| 15 | Christine Majerus | Luxembourg | + 9" |
| 16 | Lucinda Brand | Netherlands | + 9" |
| 17 | Tiffany Cromwell | Australia | + 9" |
| 18 | Elena Cecchini | Italy | + 17" |
| 19 | Rachel Neylan | Australia | + 17" |
| 20 | Lizzie Williams | Australia | + 17" |
| 21 | Małgorzata Jasińska | Poland | + 17" |
| 22 | Linda Villumsen | New Zealand | + 17" |
| 23 | Valentina Scandolara | Italy | + 19" |
| 24 | Evelyn Stevens | United States | + 19" |
| 25 | Amalie Dideriksen | Denmark | + 31" |
| 26 | Emilia Fahlin | Sweden | + 31" |
| 27 | Giorgia Bronzini | Italy | + 36" |
| 28 | Lauren Kitchen | Australia | + 46" |
| 29 | Katrin Garfoot | Australia | + 46" |
| 30 | Lisa Brennauer | Germany | + 49" |
| 31 | Romy Kasper | Germany | + 51" |
| 32 | Leah Kirchmann | Canada | + 52" |
| 33 | Hanna Solovey | Ukraine | + 52" |
| 34 | Daiva Tušlaitė | Lithuania | + 52" |
| 35 | Rasa Leleivytė | Lithuania | + 52" |
| 36 | Alison Jackson | Canada | + 52" |
| 37 | Emilie Moberg | Norway | + 52" |
| 38 | Diana Peñuela | Colombia | + 52" |
| 39 | Coryn Rivera | United States | + 52" |
| 40 | Lotta Lepistö | Finland | + 52" |
| 41 | Elena Kuchinskaya | Russia | + 52" |
| 42 | Eugenia Bujak | Poland | + 52" |
| 43 | Íngrid Drexel | Mexico | + 52" |
| 44 | Tatiana Antoshina | Russia | + 52" |
| 45 | Aude Biannic | France | + 52" |
| 46 | Amy Pieters | Netherlands | + 52" |
| 47 | An-Li Kachelhoffer | South Africa | + 52" |
| 48 | Amanda Spratt | Australia | + 52" |
| 49 | Jolien D'Hoore | Belgium | + 52" |
| 50 | Loren Rowney | Australia | + 52" |
| 51 | Ane Santesteban | Spain | + 52" |
| 52 | Anna Plichta | Poland | + 52" |
| 53 | Audrey Cordon | France | + 52" |
| 54 | Rossella Ratto | Italy | + 52" |
| 55 | Lenore Pipes | Guam | + 52" |
| 56 | Olga Shekel | Ukraine | + 1' 11" |
| 57 | Polona Batagelj | Slovenia | + 1' 16" |
| 58 | Anna Potokina | Russia | + 1' 25" |
| 59 | Oxana Kozonchuk | Russia | + 1' 25" |
| 60 | Gracie Elvin | Australia | + 1' 25" |
| 61 | Chantal Blaak | Netherlands | + 1' 37" |
| 62 | Tatiana Guderzo | Italy | + 2' 33" |
| 63 | Eri Yonamine | Japan | + 3' 33" |
| 64 | Jelena Erić | Serbia | + 4' 52" |
| 65 | Monika Żur | Poland | + 5' 41" |
| 66 | Urša Pintar | Slovenia | + 5' 41" |
| 67 | Iris Slappendel | Netherlands | + 5' 41" |
| 68 | Laura Camila Lozano Ramirez | Colombia | + 5' 41" |
| Rank | Rider | Country | Time |
| 69 | Anisha Vekemans | Belgium | + 5' 41" |
| 70 | Monika Brzeźna | Poland | + 5' 41" |
| 71 | Olivia Dillon | Ireland | + 5' 41" |
| 72 | Joanne Kiesanowski | New Zealand | + 5' 41" |
| 73 | Sérika Gulumá | Colombia | + 5' 41" |
| 74 | Hanna Nilsson | Sweden | + 5' 41" |
| 75 | Camilla Møllebro | Denmark | + 5' 41" |
| 76 | Marta Bastianelli | Italy | + 5' 41" |
| 77 | Tayler Wiles | United States | + 5' 41" |
| 78 | Rushlee Buchanan | New Zealand | + 5' 41" |
| 79 | Hayley Simmonds | Great Britain | + 5' 41" |
| 80 | Doris Schweizer | Switzerland | + 5' 41" |
| 81 | Roxane Knetemann | Netherlands | + 7' 34" |
| 82 | Svetlana Vasilieva | Russia | + 10' 11" |
| 83 | Daniela Reis | Portugal | + 10' 11" |
| 84 | Erika Varela | Mexico | + 10' 11" |
| 85 | Paola Muñoz | Chile | + 10' 11" |
| 86 | Lauren Komanski | United States | + 10' 11" |
| 87 | Jeanne D'arc Girubuntu | Rwanda | + 11' 37" |
| 88 | Sheyla Gutiérrez | Spain | + 14' 00" |
| | Claudia Lichtenberg | Germany | DNF |
| | Sara Mustonen-Lichan | Sweden | DNF |
| | Alice Barnes | Great Britain | DNF |
| | Ingrid Lorvik | Norway | DNF |
| | Martina Ritter | Austria | DNF |
| | Anna Sanchis | Spain | DNF |
| | Amélie Rivat | France | DNF |
| | Stephanie Pohl | Germany | DNF |
| | Lucy Garner | Great Britain | DNF |
| | Tüvshinjargalyn Enkhjargal | Mongolia | DNF |
| | Lija Laizāne | Latvia | DNF |
| | Paz Bash | Israel | DNF |
| | Miryan Nuñez | Ecuador | DNF |
| | Cecilie Gotaas Johnsen | Norway | DNF |
| | Charlotte Becker | Germany | DNF |
| | Tetyana Ryabchenko | Ukraine | DNF |
| | Kathrin Hammes | Germany | DNF |
| | Shelley Olds | United States | DNF |
| | Annelies Dom | Belgium | DNF |
| | Pascale Jeuland | France | DNF |
| | Roxane Fournier | France | DNF |
| | Natalya Saifutdinova | Kazakhstan | DNF |
| | Zuzana Neckářová | Czech Republic | DNF |
| | Cherise Stander | South Africa | DNF |
| | Élise Delzenne | France | DNF |
| | Jessie Daams | Belgium | DNF |
| | Kaat Hannes | Belgium | DNF |
| | Jessie Walker | Great Britain | DNF |
| | Lauren Stephens | United States | DNF |
| | Nicole Hanselmann | Switzerland | DNF |
| | Kathryn Bertine | Saint Kitts and Nevis | DNF |
| | Chanpeng Nontasin | Thailand | DNF |
| | Sofie De Vuyst | Belgium | DNF |
| | Denise Ramsden | Canada | DNF |
| | Molly Weaver | Great Britain | DNF |
| | Tereza Medveďová | Slovakia | DNF |
| | Daria Egorova | Russia | DNF |
| | Jennifer Cesar | Venezuela | DNF |
| | Milagro Mena | Costa Rica | DNF |
| | Katarzyna Wilkos | Poland | DNF |
| | Fiona Meade | Ireland | DNF |
| | Olena Demydova | Ukraine | DNF |
| | Miriam Bjørnsrud | Norway | DNF |
| | Sarah Rijkes | Austria | DNF |
| | Jutatip Maneephan | Thailand | DNF |
| | Solymar Rivera | Puerto Rico | DNF |
| | Laura Vainionpää | Finland | DNS |