Great Britain may not have medaled or even placed in the top 10 in the elite women's road race at the Road World Championships in Flanders on Saturday, but 2015 winner Lizzie Deignan was particularly complimentary of 22-year-old Anna Henderson, calling it her best She praised the strong team effort, saying it was the best performance she has seen in years.

Henderson played a more important role in the race between the Flandrien and Leuven circuits, looking for movement in the open and attacking phases. Degnan, on the other hand, played the waiting game, leaving one big bullet at the end of the race.

None of Henderson's moves stuck, and Degnan ultimately lost a leg in the climax.

"Weird," was the first thing Dignan said. 'I had all kinds of sensations. I felt strong, I felt fit, but I wasn't fast enough at the end. I couldn't keep up when I needed to. I lost my footing at the end

"I felt good on the uphill circuits. It was literally the speed of the circuit in Leuven. We are approaching the end of the season. I can maintain my fitness, but I can't maintain my top-end speed."

Dignan finished 14th, in the middle of a group of 25 riders vying for the finish, with Henderson in 25th, 49 seconds behind. Despite the lack of results, Dignan was impressed with the team's collective effort, and the British took the reins on the approach to the Flandrian Loop, allowing the leading group to take advantage of the race.

"I want to give a big round of applause to my teammates. They helped me save my energy. I think this was my best performance in years.

"Me and Anna competed as co-leaders. Tactically, we didn't expect to get any space on the local laps, so she took her chances when they came and I waited for the sprint. I thought the climb around Ovelaise would be more exciting, but it didn't happen.

"At the end I was going to surf on wheels. I would have to actually do a sprint at the World Championships to find out. I wanted to stick with Vos' wheel, but it was obviously a contested wheel. I just stalled in the last corner.

Degnan said he was "really impressed" with Henderson and noted that he is having a strong season in his first year at Jumbo Visma. Henderson, a former skier, has made great strides, winning a stage and overall at the Tour de Belle en Terre Kreuz-Bleitz, and taking a number of prizes before his first professional victory.

In Flanders, she was handed a co-leadership opportunity with a former world champion, which she grabbed with both hands and threw herself into the thick of the action.

"At the start I was like, 'Wow, I don't know what's going to happen to my legs,' but once I got into the Flandrian circuit, my legs really woke up," Henderson said.

"I kept up with everything on the local laps and tried to help Lizzie conserve energy. Everything went well today. I think everything went well today.

"I only had a few chances to show [leadership] and I put myself in that position to do that. I just don't have enough experience to do that. In the future, with a little more experience under the guidance of Lizzie and the rest of British Cycling, I think I can get there."

Flanders was indeed her fourth World Championships elite road race appearance, having debuted in Austria in 2018 as an 18-year-old. On that evidence, Saturday will be far from over.

"I blinked and it was over. It happened so fast and I was really drained," Henderson said. [29] "Belgium was special, the crowd was so big. I am already looking forward to next year's World Championships."

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