OTLEY'S Lizzie Armitstead finished seventh in the women's road race at the Road World Championships in Spain as France's Pauline Ferrand Prevot won gold.

Olympic champion Marianne Vos's eight-year run of podium finishes ended as she could only come home in tenth place.

Prevot won a sprint in a select group in Ponferrada ahead of Germany's Lisa Brennauer, the time-trial champion on Tuesday, with Emma Johannson taking bronze.

The remarkable Vos had been an ever present on the podium since 2006, when she claimed her first of three victories, and was seeking a third straight success but the Dutchwoman fell short on the undulating 127.4-kilometre course (seven 18.2km laps).

Armitstead was prominent at the front as the contenders sized each other up at the start of the final lap before Evelyn Stevens (USA) made her move with 12km to go, stringing out the peloton.

Armitstead covered every attack and Johansson made her bid with 5km to go, with Armitstead and Vos on her wheel.

The Yorkshirewoman gritted her teeth and the trio were joined by Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini, who was the first to make a forlorn lone bid for the line.

The quartet's lack of cooperation came back to bite them when a group led by Germany bridged the gap and Ferrand triumphed.

"I messed it up," said Armitstead, who was bidding to become the fourth British world road race champion.

"It's difficult to be focused on a sprint with 500 metres to go when you were so committed to the break.

"It needed to be harder so much earlier in the race and everyone played the sprinter card. It was just a negative race.

"I worked really hard. I'm in good shape, but that's cycling."