ZURICH :Belgium's Lotte Kopecky won a thrilling women's road race as she held off a high-calibre lead group to retain her title on a rain-drenched Zurich course on Saturday.The 154km battle was whittled down to all the main contenders on the final city circuit and it was impossible to predict the outcome as t

ZURICH (AP) — Lotte Kopecky successfully defended her title at the women's road race at the cycling world championships Saturday, beating her rivals in a six-way sprint finish.The 28-year-old Belgian rider timed her attack to perfection in the last 100 metres to fend off American rider Chloé Dygert and Italian Elisa Longo-Borghini. She thrust her arms in the air as she savored another victory.Magdeleine Vallières-Mill of Sherbrooke, Que., was the top Canadian in 14th. She finished three minutes back of the leaders.The 154-kilometre trek from Uster to Zurich featured a short but steep climb, while the rainy conditions made descents even more precarious. The top six were timed at four hours, 5 seconds.Kopecky won last year's race ahead of Dutchwoman Demi Vollering, who took silver in last Sunday's women's time trial behind Olympic champion Grace Brown of Australia.Vollering led into the last kilometer on Saturday but couldn't muster the strength for a decisive attack.The race was held with cycling mourning the…