It’s Alejandro Valverde and Anna van der Breggen that are getting most of the headlines. Valverde for finally winning Worlds after six podium finishes, for his sublime race craft, and for the way his win makes people feel. Van der Breggen for her audacity to attack so far out, the way she put minutes into her rivals, and the fact Worlds was practically the only big race she had left to win. What next for her?
But the 2018 Road World Championships aren’t defined by these stories alone. Sure, the elite road races may have been the marquee events, but the 2018 Road Worlds produced many stories of note.
Take Rohan Dennis’ thumping victory in the elite men’s time trial, for example — a deserving win after several Worlds ITTs mishaps. Or junior MTB world champion Laura Stigger’s emphatic win in the junior women’s road race — only her second-ever road race. Or Mikkel Bjerg’s successful defence of his U23 time trial title … at just 19 years old.
And let’s not forget what was perhaps the biggest story of the 2018 Worlds; the arrival of Remco Evenepoel on the world stage. The Belgian phenom’s two gold medals were little surprise to those in the know, but they were no less remarkable for that fact. A storming victory in the junior men’s ITT was followed by a big solo victory in the road race … the latter coming after a crash and bike change left him several minutes off the pace. It seems obvious to suggest that the 18 year old is destined for great things.
Join us as we reflect on the 2018 Road World Championships courtesy of some great images from Kristof Ramon and Cor Vos.
-
- Sarah Roy warms up for the first event of the 2018 Worlds, the women’s team time trial.
-
- Her teammate Gracie Elvin was a picture of concentration during the warm-up.
-
- Boels-Dolmans came into the race looking to improve on their silver medal from 2017.
-
- But Canyon-SRAM had other ideas, speeding to victory roughly 22 seconds ahead of Boels-Dolmans in second.
-
- Last year’s winners, Sunweb, rounded out the podium.
-
- The men’s team time trial was also held on the first Sunday of the meet. Pictured: Ryan Mullen warming up.
-
- Michael Matthews didn’t get picked for the Aussie road race squad (even after Richie Porte’s withdrawal) but he was there racing for Sunweb in the TTT. The German squad finished second on the day …
-
- … 18 seconds behind QuickStep Floors.
-
- The junior women were the first to begin their individual time trials.
-
- Dutchwoman Rozemarijn Ammerlaan posted the fastest time …
-
- … winning gold by seven seconds ahead of Italy’s Camilla Alessio. Great Britain’s Elynor Backstedt was third, another 11 seconds back.
-
- Defending champion Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark) started the U23 men’s ITT as a rider to watch.
-
- He went on to win by more than 30 seconds. And at just 19 years old, Bjerg has several more years in the U23 ranks yet.
-
- Time trials are hard.
-
- Bjerg first, Brent Van Moer (Belgium) second, Mathias Norsgaard (Denmark) third.
-
- U.S. junior ITT champ Riley Sheehan gave it everything in the junior men’s event.
-
- Likewise Aussie Lucas Plapp who ended up with the silver medal.
-
- But the junior men’s time trial, like so many races this year, belonged to Belgian wonderkid Remco Evenepoel.
-
- Evenepoel gets a hug from his parents. He only started cycling in 2017 after being captain of Belgium’s U17 soccer team. He’s set for a massive future and has signed with QuickStep Floors for 2019.
-
- Plapp watches on as Evenepoel is overcome with emotion.
-
- Annemiek van Vleuten won last year’s elite women’s ITT world title and she would do so again in 2018.
-
- Her compatriot Anna van der Breggen ran second.
-
- It was an all-Dutch podium in the women’s time trial. Van Vleuten first, van der Breggen second, Ellen van Dijk third.
-
- In the elite men’s time trial, Victor Campenaerts was on a great ride, finishing third.
-
- Four-time former winner Tony Martin had to settle for seventh …
-
- … while Australia’s Rohan Dennis made up for past frustrations in Worlds ITTs to smash the field.
-
- He finished 1:21 clear of his nearest rival …
-
- … the defending champion Tom Dumoulin.
-
- Dumoulin cramped up after the finish and was disappointed to be off the pace …
-
- … but was graceful in defeat.
-
- The junior women’s road race came down to a sprint from four riders.
-
- In just her second-ever road race, junior MTB world champion Laura Stigger (Austria) added a road world title to her palmares.
-
- France’s Marie Le Net was second, ahead of Canada’s Simone Boilard.
-
- In the junior men’s road race, Evenepoel was the man to beat once again. But an early crash saw the phenom lose two minutes while waiting for a bike. But he soon made his way back to the main field …
-
- … before attacking …
-
- … and getting clear on his own, as he’s done so many times this year.
-
- From two minutes behind to winning solo by 1:25.
-
- Another rainbow jersey for the man Belgium’s cycling press is hailing as the next Eddy Merckx.
-
- Fancy seeing you here, Didi.
-
- The U23 men’s race started gently enough …
-
- … but would later be torn apart on the tough (but stunning) course around Innsbruck.
-
- Swiss rider Marc Hirschi went it alone …
-
- … and soloed to the finish to win by 15 seconds ahead of two chasers.
-
- Bjorg Lambrecht (Belgium) was second while Jaako Hanninen (Finland) was third.
-
- The elite women’s road race was thinned down dramatically with a couple laps still to go as the Dutch waited to play their cards.
-
- With 40km to go, Amanda Spratt and Anna van der Breggen lead the race with an increasingly large gap behind them.
-
- Van der Breggen went it alone a short time later …
-
- … and Spratt couldn’t hold the wheel. “She was on another level today,” the Australian said of her Dutch rival. “She was so so strong.”
-
- Spratt had crashed earlier in the stage but with no major damage done, she was able to hold on for a silver medal.
-
- Van der Breggen finished a dominant 3:42 ahead, adding a rainbow jersey to an already impressive palmares.
-
- Van Vleuten went down in a slightly innocuous crash involving some road furniture, but got up and managed to finish seventh. X-Rays later found an “eminence fracture” to her tibia.
-
- Van der Breggen first, Spratt second, 2009 world champion Tatiana Guderzo in third.
-
- The elite men’s race featured seven laps of the Innsbruck circuit’s 7.9km climb, then a brutally steep climb on the final circuit.
-
- Michael Valgren attacked solo in the closing lap and opened a dangerous gap, but was later closed down.
-
- Primoz Roglic (left) was among the pre-race favourites, but a crash didn’t help his chances.
-
- An elite selection emerged on the steep final climb: Romain Bardet, Alejandro Valverde and Michael Woods.
-
- Tom Dumoulin put in a brave fight to battle up the climb on his own and across to the three leaders.
-
- Dumoulin made contact just before the finish, but he was always going to have a hard time beating Valverde. The Spaniard led out the sprint…
-
- … and still won it convincingly.
-
- Valverde described his win as “the greatest day of my career”. That’s saying something for a guy who’s won more than 120 professional bike races.
-
- Three-time winner (and defending champ) Peter Sagan was on hand to present Valverde with his jersey.
-
- Romain Bardet’s second place adds to his second overall at the Tour de France in 2016. For Michael Woods, third place makes him one of only two Canadians to medal in the men’s road race at Worlds, after Steve Bauer in 1984.