France's Pauline Ferrand Prevot wins gold in sprint finish
Britain's Lizzie Armitstead comes seventh and misses out on a medal
Defending champion Marianne Vos finishes 10th
Lisa Brennauer of Germany wins silver and Emma Johansson of Sweden bronze
More than a dozen riders fell in nasty crash on second lap
Riders completed seven laps of 18.2km circuit (127.4km) in Ponferrada, Spain
It has been a fairly sedate start to the race and the entire peloton is all together as they hit the bottom of the first of two climbs that punctuate each of the seven 18km circuits.
The ascent to Confederacion is around 5km in length with an altitude increase of around 200m. A brief descent follows before a shorter climb to Mirador and another descent back into Ponferrada to cross the start-finish line.
The first topic for discussion on commentary is the form of Marianne Vos, which is a bit of an unknown - she was surprisingly dropped by her professional team in the team time trial last Sunday.
Vos has been on the top two steps of the podium each year since winning her first title in 2006. Five second places followed before victories in 2012 and 2013.
The 134 riders have just started the 127.4km race in Ponferrada. Live commentary from Simon Brotherton, Rochelle Gilmore and Rob Hayles.
Image source, British CyclingBritish Cycling:, external GBs Lizzie Armitstead and Lucy Garner warming up.
The race is expected to take around three-and-a-half hours so that gives you plenty of time to get involved in this live text commentary.
I'll take a closer look at some of the riders once the race has got going and settled down. But in the meantime, do you agree with Lizzie Armitstead that this is the best chance she has ever had to win the title? Or do you think that Dutch sensation Marianne Vos to win a third successive crown and fourth in total? Will it be Giorgia Bronzini's day to win a third title, or maybe Sweden's Emma Johansson will finally win gold.
Text me on 81111, remembering to put Cycling at the beginning of your message and include your name. Or tweet me at #bbccycling, external
Simon Brotherton
BBC Sport cycling commentator
Lizzie Armitstead should be in the mix today in the World Championship road race. Live on BBC. 1st hr on red button at 1pm then BBC1 at 2pm.
Hello and welcome to live TV and text coverage of the women's road race at the World Championships, which are being held in Ponferrada, Spain.
The 127.4km race gets under way at 13:00 BST and you can follow the action by clicking on the link at the top of this page.
Image source, Getty Images"If I don't win I will be disappointed. It's the best chance I've ever had," Britain's Lizzie Armitstead told BBC Sport when asked whether 2014 would be the year she wins the women's road race at the World Championships.