We’ll remember many things from this year’s Road World Championships. Annemiek van Vleuten’s ridiculous, 105km solo win in the women’s road race, for one. Chloe Dygert-Owen’s demolition job in the elite time trial, for another. And what about Remco Evenepoel’s silver medal in the elite men’s time trial, as a 19-year-old? Or Mads Pedersen’s surprise win in the elite men’s road race? Unfortunately, Nils Eekhoff’s disqualification in the U23 men’s road race will also be long-remembered.
Linking all of these moments together is one common theme: bleak racing conditions and near-constant rain. From the Mixed TTT Relay on day 1 through to the elite men’s road race that closed out the meet, it rained almost incessantly. The Yorkshire tourism board will likely be cursing its luck, but for the riders that triumphed in such miserable conditions, their achievements are only magnified.
With the 2019 Road Worlds now complete, join us as we take a look back at the most impressive and most memorable performances from eight rain-soaked days of competition.
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- The weather on day 1 of Worlds really set the tone.
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- The riders of the Mixed TTT Relay had thoroughly soggy conditions to deal with …
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- … but the Dutch team had no issue getting around the course safely.
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- Winners of the inaugural Mixed TTT Relay world title.
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- Russia’s Aigul Gareeva won the junior women’s time trial.
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- Great Britain’s Elynor Bäckstedt took third and had her boyfriend Charley Calvert on hand to help celebrate.
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- Dutchwoman Shirin Van Anrooij was second.
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- Italy’s Antonio Tiberi took victory in the junior men’s ITT.
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- Time trials are hard.
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- Enzo Leijnse (Netherlands) was second while Marco Brenner (Germany) was third.
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- The wet conditions continued during the U23 men’s time trial.
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- Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark) started as the big favourite having won the past two editions. He lived up to that billing.
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- At just 20, Bjerg is now a three-time U23 world ITT champion. He’s just signed a three-year contract to race with UAE-Team Emirates from next year.
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- The elite women, too, had miserable conditions to deal with.
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- Chloe-Dygert Owen wasn’t fazed by the bad weather. She put more than 90 seconds into her closest rivals to take her first (of many?) Worlds ITT titles.
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- The American’s winning margin was the largest in the history of the Road Worlds ITT.
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- Defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten had an off day, but she would get her chance to shine a few days later.
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- Dygert-Owen beat some massive names of the sport to take her rainbow jersey in Yorkshire.
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- Despite being just 19, Remco Evenepoel started the elite men’s time trial as one of the favourites. A year earlier he won the junior ITT title and has since skipped the U23 ranks entirely.
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- Victor Campenaerts was aiming for another podium finish but his chances were scuppered by a crash.
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- Defending champion Rohan Dennis came to Yorkshire having not raced since his bizarre exit from the Tour de France.
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- He answered his critics in the best way possible, smashing the field to take his second world title. That’s Vuelta a España winner Primoz Roglic to his left. The Slovenian started three minutes earlier than Dennis.
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- Dennis’ wife Mel, an Olympian and world champion on the track, was at the finish with the couple’s son Oliver.
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- Evenepoel took the silver medal — an incredible feat — while Italian Filippo Ganna rode to a surprise bronze medal.
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- Rain was a constant companion during the junior men’s road race, in which the USA’s Quinn Simmons attacked with 33km to go …
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- … and held on for a terrific victory.
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- Simmons’ compatriot Magnus Sheffield was third, just behind Italy’s Alessio Martinelli. At just 18, Simmons will join Trek-Segafredo next year on a two-year deal.
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- A late crash marred the junior women’s road race.
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- Megan Jastrab (USA) managed to avoid the chaos and sprinted into the rainbow jersey.
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- Others weren’t so lucky …
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- Belgium’s Julie De Wilde was second, while The Netherlands’ Lieke Nooijen took third.
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- The U23 men’s road race was shortened due to bad weather. It turned out to be a comparatively dry race, relative to the rest of the week’s events.
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- It came down to a sprint from a small group where Nils Eekhoff was first across the line.
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- In a controversial move, the race jury disqualified the Dutchman for earlier drafting his team car back to the bunch following a crash.
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- That left Italy’s Samuele Battistella as world champion, with Stefan Bissegger (Switzerland) second and local lad Tom Pidcock in third.
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- Van Vleuten sets off on a 100km+ solo move to win the world title.
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- The 36-year-old attacked solo 105km from the finish and, against the odds, managed to hold on all the way to the end.
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- Recently crowned ITT champion Chloe Dygert-Owen put in a promising late move from an elite chase group, trying to bridge to Van Vleuten, but she wasn’t able to get across.
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- Van Vleuten powered around the Harrogate circuit to take the most remarkable win in a career full of big victories.
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- It was the greatest solo effort we’ve seen at the Road World Championships in recent times.
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- Van Vleuten’s mother was at the finish to help celebrate.
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- Van Vleuten got a big hug from trade teammate Amanda Spratt (Australia) who finished third, to add to her silver medal from last year.
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- Local hero Lizzie Deignan (pictured here with daughter Orla) wasn’t able to take the win on home roads. She enjoyed plenty of support out on course though.
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- Dygert-Owen gave it everything but Van Vleuten was just too strong.
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- Van Vleuten first, fellow Dutchwoman (and defending champion) Anna van der Breggen in second, and Spratt in third.
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- The elite men’s road race was a thoroughly soggy affair. The course was shortened due to the conditions. This breakaway featured some huge names of the sport: Vuelta winner Roglic, Giro d’Italia winner Richard Carapaz and former Grand Tour winner Nairo Quintana.
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- Nice bike, Rohan.
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- The ever-enigmatic Carlos Betancur showed some good signs late in the race.
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- A series of late attacks left just three out front: Stefan Küng (Switzerland), Matteo Trentin (Italy) and Mads Pedersen (Denmark).
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- Trentin was the big favourite coming into the sprint, but Pedersen was able to take the win easily – a surprising but thoroughly well deserved victory for the 23-year-old Dane.
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- Pre-race favourite Mathieu van der Poel had been part of the winning break for a time and looked very dangerous. But in the closing kilometres he cracked spectacularly and finished nearly 11 minutes down.
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- Another of the favourites, Julian Alaphilippe, looked like he aged about five years in the horrendous conditions.
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- Belgium had the strongest team on the startlist but weren’t able to capitalise on that fact.
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- Matteo Trentin was bitterly disappointed to come so close to a world title after what has been a great season.
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- There was no such disappointment for Pedersen.
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- Trentin second, Küng third. Pedersen now has the honour of wearing the rainbow bands for the next 12 months.
Please excuse the interruption.
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