Lizzie Armitstead's career highlights so far after Tour of Flanders win
Monday 4 April 2016 14:08, UK
Britain’s Lizzie Armitstead secured another landmark victory in her career by winning the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.
It further cemented her status as the best female rider in the world and one of the best Britain has ever produced.
Here, we look back at her career highlights so far…
Olympic Games silver
Armitstead looks upon her second-place finish behind Marianne Vos at the London 2012 Olympic road race as a silver medal won rather than a gold lost.
In pouring rain on The Mall, the then 23-year-old couldn't match the sprint of the Dutch great but nevertheless became a household name by earning Team GB their first medal of the home Games.
Commonwealth Games gold
Armitstead struggled in 2013 with health problems and her performances suffered as a consequence, but she had overcome them by the start of 2014 and her results improved dramatically.
After a strong spring and early summer, she dominated the Commonwealth Games road race in Glasgow to win by 25 seconds from runner-up and England team-mate Emma Pooley.
First World Cup crown
Armitstead's performances and results were so consistent in 2014 that she won the nine-race, season-long UCI Women's Road World Cup series for the first time.
A win in the Ronde van Drenthe and second places in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Tour of Flanders and La Fleche Wallonne were central to the success.
World Championship title
Armitstead retained the World Cup title in 2015, but the crowning glory of her season - and her career so far - came in the World Championship road race in the United States in September.
After a breakaway had been caught with less than 3km to go, she whittled down the field with a late attack and then narrowly won a sprint finish to become only the fourth British woman to claim the road world title.
Tour of Flanders glory
The Tour of Flanders is one of the most prestigious races in women's cycling and had been a long-held target for Armitstead, who finished in the top three in each of the past three years.
With 16km to go she followed an attack from Emma Johansson and then defeated the Swede by half the width of a wheel in a sprint finish to claim the second biggest win of her career.
Rio gold?
The undisputed highlight of her career could come this summer, when she bids to win Olympic road race gold in Rio.
Armitstead claims the hilly course is not ideal for her style, but on the evidence of the past 12 months - and particularly her successes in the World Championship road race and Tour of Flanders - it's difficult to see how she will be anything other than a clear favourite.
