Denmark's Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig failed to switch gears on the final climb in the elite women's road race at the World Championships in Imola, Italy, and finished eighth, failing to place high enough to win a medal, let alone a medal.

"We are still trying to figure out what happened," Danish national coach Taieb Brykia told BT.dk on Saturday evening.

"When I checked it out, there was no power in the battery and it was terrible, especially going down [from the final climb].

Uttrup-Ludwig used Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic gears on his FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope team lapierre bike, using a small battery for gears and shifting with a conventional brake/gear lever on the handlebar.

When the battery runs out of charge, the rider is stuck in one gear. According to Brykia, this is what seems to have happened to Uttrup Ludwig, although it appears that it was some kind of mechanical failure rather than forgetting to charge the battery.

"I asked the mechanics about it, it's the last thing they check before they go to bed. 'I looked at the other rider's bike and it was fully charged. When fully charged, they usually have enough power to run for a few months."

The two mechanics on the Danish team seem just as upset as Uttrup-Ludwig.

"They feel really terrible. 'If something goes wrong with the bike, even if they didn't make a mistake, they are responsible for it. We can't blame them because we still don't know what happened."

Brychia said he had not yet spoken to Utrup Ludwig after the race.

"I don't know if I would have been in contention for a medal otherwise, but I certainly wouldn't have been able to fight for fourth through eighth."

"I knew she had a shot at a medal after the Giro d'Italia, and I knew it was still possible on the last lap.

"Cecily is really upset. We all are, but she's especially upset."