Italian rider Balsamo upsets Dutch at cycling worlds

LEUVEN, Belgium (AP) — Elisa Balsamo has upset the Dutch favorites in a sprint finish to claim the world championship title in the women’s road race. Track specialist Balsamo launched the sprint with hot favorite Marianne Vos in her wheel. Triple world champion Vos pushed hard to catch Balsamo but could not match her speed and power. Vos finished runner-up ahead of Katarzyna Niewiadoma of Poland. The race started in the port city of Antwerp and featured a series of 20 climbs on two different circuits in the cycling-mad Flanders region of Belgium.