Sagan scorches to UCI World Championships victory

Speaking less than an hour after his victory, he said strategy wasn’t an option for his three-rider team from Slovakia and that, even if it had been, that’s not how he races. He let Zdenek Stybar and Greg Van Avarmaet lead the way up cobbled Libby Hill, then ripped away on the descent. The 25-year-old spent most of the day in the belly of the peloton but attacked at just the right time, taking a good lead in the descent and surviving until the finish line.

“Everybody had to be exhausted after 240km”. I was [waiting] for that last hill.

“I just gave it everything on that climb to follow the guys there and then I just didn’t have anything left for that finish”, said Swift, who was out much of the season following a collarbone break at Tour de Yorkshire in May.

With a pack of riders in furious pursuit down the long straightaway to the finish, Sagan had enough of a cushion to raise his arms in triumph at the line. The Slovak, one of the peloton’s top showmen, tossed his helmet into the crowd before getting off his bike and walking back through the peloton, high-fiving opposing riders.

As he rode down a side street to the drug testing area he rose his front wheel from the ground like a stunt rider.

Thor Hushovd, Mark Cavendish were Phillipe Gilbert may have been known quantities when they won the rainbow jersey presented to the world champion.

He was exhilarated. Others were exhausted. Feed zone and a HUGE crash in the peloton with a couple of Spaniards down – there’ll be more of this as riders get more and more exhausted. “Now I have this jersey and I’ll hold it for the next year”.

Michael Matthews takes silver, Ramunas Navardauskas (Lithuania) the bronze.

The world championships are one of the few races where riders compete on national teams rather than trade teams.

“The race was very odd”. He proved that unquestionably Sunday, when he was one of just three Slovakian representatives.

At the start, however, it was a day for Ben King.

The race saw action from the off, with an eight-man breakaway gaining five minutes early on.

“It’s a cool, unique aspect of the world championships”, American rider Brent Bookwalter said of the course, the race and its fickle nature.

Mollema worked hard but was rejoined by Stannard, plus past world champions Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) and Tom Boonen (Belgium), as well as Elia Viviani (Italy), Andrey Amador (Costa Rica) and Dani Moreno (Spain).

With Germany, Australia and the US teams left out of the break, they combined efforts to close the gap. But I said, ‘I already tried, I have to go.’ Because if I look back or stop to pull and wait for the sprint, maybe I can get third or fifth.

This time, it was the Italians who mounted the charge.

It’s a diminished peloton heading in to Libby Hill and then 23rd Street with the cobbles specialists making merry.

At the end of the race, which he was unable to complete, they raised him to their shoulders and paraded at the finish line.

The global scope of cycling was underscored this week by a large and colorful contingent of fans from Eritrea.