Eddy Merckx et Stephen Roche are no longer alone… Like the Belgian in 1974 and the Irishman in 1987, Tadej Pogacar became world road champion after winning earlier in the season the Tour of Italy and the Tour de France ! And this world title, the first of his career, the Slovenian achieved an unreal feat to get it, launching his conquest of the rainbow jersey 100 kilometers from the finish, the moment when he decided to leave the peloton . After catching up and swallowing up the riders who were then at the front, the world number 1 then found himself alone at the head of the race 51 miles from the finish… and no one was able to see him again.
Video – Tadej Pogacar did something crazy this Sunday
La surprise Ben O’Connor, Mathieu van der Poel and bronze
First Slovenian to become world champion, Tadej Pogacar is accompanied on the podium by the Australian Ben O’Connorleft the group of pursuers in the finale and who offers himself a second charm on these Worlds after the mixed relay gold, and the Dutch Mathieu van der Poelthe title holder having settled in the sprint Tom Skujin (Latvia), Remco Evenepoel (Belgium), Marc Hirschi (Suisse), Ben Healy (Ireland) and Enrique Mas (Spain) for third place.
Author of a superb race and first Frenchman of the day, Romain Bardet crossed the line in tenth position. Having very quickly lost Julian Alaphilippe on fall, the French team of Thomas Voeckler tried to exist – Pavel Sivakov showed himself to be offensive, David Gaudu has long been with the best – but she suffered overall and logically leaves without a medal from Zurich.
The detailed summary
The start of this 91st edition of the road race World Championships was given in Winterthur around 10:40 a.m. From the first kilometers, offensives are launched. Many runners want to get a head start on the main favorites. We do not only find riders from “small” nations on the offensive, but also some riders from big teams. The French are particularly very active at the head of the peloton.
And after around thirty kilometers of battle, eight runners managed to escape. It is about Silvan Dillier (Suisse), Tobias Foss (Norway), Simon Geschke (Germany), Rui Oliveira (Portugal), Piotr Pekala (Pologne), Luke Wirtgen (Luxembourg), Markus Pajur (Estonia) and Roberto Carlos Gonzalez (Panama). Quickly dropped, the last two cities will remain in a potato hunt for a long time, without ever landing on their heads.
Julian Alaphilippe falls and gives up!
Behind, while it is Slovenia Tadej Pogacar who takes things in hand and manages the lead left to the six escapees, the first major event of the race occurs 220 kilometers from the finish since Julian Alaphilippe (France) is forced to abandon! The former double world champion fell, along with other riders like Pello Bilbao (Spain) and Joao Almeida (Portugal), and injured his shoulder.
A nice counter group is formed… and takes a very interesting lead
After more than 80 kilometers of racing, we return to the final circuit. The leading men are 5 minutes ahead of a peloton which is now also led by the Belgian team of Remco Evenepoel. Note that Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark), Joao Almeida (Portugal) and Mikel Landa (Spain) also dropped out. The pace picks up little by little and the lead of the escapees diminishes. And halfway through the race, the dynamic completely changes as the first attacks are launched in the peloton!
A group of ten strong men manage to escape and quickly gain a lead of more than a minute. It is composed of Laurens More (Belgium), Jan Tratnik (Slovenia), Mattia Cattaneo (Italy), Magnus Cort Nielsen (Denmark), Pavel Sivakov (France), Stephen Williams (Great Britain), Jay Vine (Australia), Kevin Vermaerke (UNITED STATES), Johannes Staune-Mittet (Norway) and Florian Lipowitz (Germany). All major nations are represented, except the Netherlands and Spain. But the latter do not want to roll, the peloton closes and the gap grows considerably. This group of pursuers enters the morning breakaway and we therefore find 16 men at the head of the race.
101 kilometers from the finish… Tadej Pogacar attacks!
About a hundred kilometers from the finish, things are moving in the peloton, which is almost three minutes behind the leading group. After his teammate Domain Novak set a strong tempo in Bergstrasse, Tadej Pogacar attack in person! Quinn Simmons (United States) and Andrea Bagioli (Italy) follow in the footsteps of the big favorite of the day, but they do not manage to stay long with Pogacarlaunched into an insane raid! Jan Tratnik waits for its leader and brings him back to the leading group, while in the peloton, it is Belgium Remco Evenepoel who does the work, Victor Campenaerts et Quinten Hermans being in charge.
While there are still three laps of the circuit to complete, or approximately 80 kilometers, the gap between the group Pogacar and the pack of other favorites is only 30 seconds. Jan Tratnik releases its last venom before approaching the Bergstrasse, a bump in which Tadej Pogacar stands up on the pedals and hurts his companions on the run. Pavel Sivakov remains in contact with the Slovenian almost until the summit, and seeing his teammate from home UAE Team Emirates not far behind him, the world number one decides to wait for him. In the second ascent of the circuit, Maxim Van Gils (Belgium) clearly increases the pace within the peloton, and the latter completely explodes, with only around thirty riders making up it, including the French Romain Bardet, David Gaudu et Romain Grégoire !
Tadej Pogacar leaves alone 50 miles from the goal… they are everywhere!
While Pavel Sivakov collaborates with Tadej Pogacar At the front of the race, attacks increased within the peloton, but no one managed to escape. About sixty miles from the goal, a trio composed ofOscar Onley (Great Britain), Tom Skujin (Latvia) and Ben Healy (Ireland) finally manages to free himself. Two laps from the finish, the leading duo has a 40-second lead over the chasing trio, a 50-inch margin over a quartet made up of Kevin Vermaerke (UNITED STATES), Mathieu van der Poel (The Netherlands), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Norway) and Frederik Wandahl (Denmark), and a little over 1 minute on the group Remco Evenepoel (Belgium), in which only David Gaudu is present for France.
The penultimate passage into Bergstrasse is fatal to Pavel Sivakovwho is left behind from the foot by Tadej Pogacar. Behind, Healy et Skujins distancent onlywhile Van der Poel separates from Vermaerke, Johannessen et Wandahl. Now relegated to 1’15”, the group Evenepoel exploded under the leadership of the Belgian, and we find in this one Enrique Mas (Spain), Matteo Jorgenson (UNITED STATES), David Gaudu (France), Marc Hirschi (Switzerland) and Jai Hindley (Australia). Several runners then manage to return to this group, including Romain Bardet.
40 miles from the goal… fifteen runners can still be titled
Income on Oscar Onley, Mathieu van der Poel stumbles, and the title holder is finally caught by Remco Evenepoel, Romain Bardet and others. 40 kilometers from the finish, the situation is as follows: Pogacar is alone in the lead with 55″ of margin on Healy et Skujinswhile at 1’15”, we find Mathias Vacek (Czech Republic), Ben O’Connor (Australia), Roger Adria (Spain), Bauke Mollema (The Netherlands), Van der Poel, Evenepoel, Gaudu, The bard, Simmons, But, only et Hirschi.
Tadej Pogacar suffers but goes to the end, O’Connor and Van der Poel medalists
In the last passage of Bergstrasse, Marc Hirschi places a huge attack that allows him to escape the group alone Evenepoel – Van der Poel. The Swiss, however, plateaued after making a big effort and he was unable to make the connection with Tom Skujin et Ben Healy. After having placed a nice acceleration, Enrique Mas returns to Hirschiand after a few kilometers of collaboration, they return to the Latvian and the Irishman.
These four men then see the return of Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel et Ben O’Connorand so there are seven of them chasing one Tadej Pogacar who starts to grimace and is only 40 seconds ahead. But the Slovenian is not the best runner in the world for nothing, and he manages to come back in the last 10 kilometers to win the first rainbow jersey of his career. Behind the Slovenian, Ben O’Connor proves to be the smartest in the final and goes to get the silver medal after extricating himself from the chasing group. Third place is decided by a sprint, and it is Mathieu van der Poel who crosses the line in third position.
