Lizzie Deignan finished fourth in defence of the UCI Road World Championships women's road race title as Amalie Dideriksen of Denmark won gold in Doha.

Dideriksen won a bunch sprint at the end of the 134-kilometres road race ahead of Holland's Kirsten Wild on Saturday.

Lotta Lepisto of Finland was third and Deignan finished one place off the podium.

Deignan, nee Armitstead, won the world title in Richmond, Virginia in September 2015, fulfilling a life-long ambition.

The 27-year-old from Otley, a London 2012 silver medallist, had the honour of wearing the world champion's rainbow jersey for the year. That honour now falls to Dideriksen.

Deignan had played down her chances in the pan-flat Doha route, having focused her season on the hilly Olympic Games road race in Rio.

But she was in the mix in the finale, only to fall narrowly short.

Holland, with Wild, had been favourites and were the main aggressors in the race, only for Dideriksen to upset the Dutch.

"I think it's a surprise for everybody," Dideriksen told the BBC.

"I know I'm okay in a sprint, but taking the World Championships, it's unbelievable.

"I won it twice as a junior. My big goal for the future was to win the stripes. I'm only 20 years old. I'm really happy."

Deignan said on britishcycling.org.uk: "In the finish straight I was just legless. I didn't have energy to kick.

"If I had prepared for this I may have done some sprint training and put myself in a position to win.

"But (Dideriksen is) a deserved champion."