Lutsenko wins under-23 Worlds road race in Valkenburg

Alexey Lutsenko gave Kazakhstan its first ever Under 23 men’s world road race title with an audacious but perfectly timed sprint along the barriers.

Lutsenko let other riders start their sprints early and then came from behind to hit the line first at exactly the right time. France’s Bryan Coquard also came up late to take second, with Belgium’s Tom Van Asbroeck taking third. Hugo Houle (Canada) was fourth and Luke Pibernik (Slovenia) was fifth.

As expected, the final climb of the Cauberg, just 1.5km from the finish, sparked attacks but Lutsenko was able to get back to the front and fight for victory.

Lutsenko was overjoyed to win the world title. Bryan Coquard was not so happy to lose by less than a wheel.

“The dominant feeling is one of disappointment, even it’s nice to have silver at least,” he said.

“(Teammate) Warren Barguil was fantastic, he helped to pace me back on after the Cauberg all the way up to the last kilometre, but maybe I needed someone in those next 500 metres. I put in a long sprint and went 350 metres from the line. I went then because I found and opening and I was worried if I waited that I would get blocked in.

A fast and furious race

As always with Under 23 world championship road races, the 177km race was fast and furious, with riders attacking and chasing each other throughout its duration.

Tomohiro Kinoshita of Japan, Jesper Dahlstrom of Sweden and Australia’s Michael Freiberg. formed the early move, opening an eight-minute gap. They were chased down and eight riders later joined them to create an 11-rider front group after five laps, before a general regrouping. Other attacks came but the peloton responded time and time again during the next three laps.

Italy’s Andrea Fedi was especially aggressive and he and four other riders managed to form a breakaway with a lap and a half to go. The five were: Andrea Fedi (Italy), Lukas Postlberger (Austria), Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentina), Anton Vorobyev (Russia) and Pawel Bernas (Poland).

As the bell rang at the finish line, signalling a lap to go, the quintet had a 15-second lead but it was not going to be enough. The peloton quickly closed the gap and then the Kazakhstan team also chased down a few solo attack on the back of the circuit.

The final climb of the Cauberg would be decisive and confirm if this year’s world championships are better suited to the attackers and climbers, or for the sprinters who opted to wait for the dash to the finish.

Austria’s Georg Preidler and Australia’s Jay McCarthy were the first to attack on the Cauberg and got a gap as the gradient eased. They were joined by a handful of other riders and for an instant they seemed to have a chance of going all the way to the finish. However some of the riders hesitated and refused to work. That slowed the attack, hit their determination and allowed the chasers to close the gap. Although the Cauberg left many struggling, 52 riders made it into the front group and drove towards the finish.

The Belgian team led-out the sprint but they went a little too early into the headwind - it was going to be a hectic sprint. Tom Van Asbroeck (Belgium) came through and probably thought he was going to win after hitting the front in the final 100 metres. But Lutsenko came past him on his left and then Coquard came past him on the right of the road to take first and second.

Lutsenko was overjoyed to win but will not wear the rainbow jersey in 2013. Instead he will join the pro ranks, as the heir to Alexandre Vinokourov’s crown of best Kazakhstan rider in cycling.

“You never know what can happen, many things are possible in a career,” he said when asked if he was ready to take over from Vinokourov.

“All season I’ve tried to stay in good condition to get wins and last month I signed a deal with Pro Team Astana. I hope I can continue to ride well as a professional next season and maybe even get a win along the way.”

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Full Results
1Alexey Lutsenko (Kazakhstan)4:20:15
2Bryan Coquard (France)Row 1 - Cell 2
3Tom Van Asbroeck (Belgium)Row 2 - Cell 2
4Hugo Houle (Canada)Row 3 - Cell 2
5Luka Pibernik (Slovenia)Row 4 - Cell 2
6Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Colombia)Row 5 - Cell 2
7Hernando Bohorquez Sanchez (Colombia)Row 6 - Cell 2
8Kenneth Van Bilsen (Belgium)Row 7 - Cell 2
9Wouter Wippert (Netherlands)Row 8 - Cell 2
10Sam Bennett (Ireland)Row 9 - Cell 2
11Patrick Konrad (Austria)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Jan Polanc (Slovenia)Row 11 - Cell 2
13Soufiane Haddi (Morocco)Row 12 - Cell 2
14Moreno Hofland (Netherlands)Row 13 - Cell 2
15Haavard Blikra (Norway)Row 14 - Cell 2
16Sergei Pomoshnikov (Russian Federation)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Silvan Dillier (Switzerland)Row 16 - Cell 2
18Lawrence Kalil Warbasse (United States of America)Row 17 - Cell 2
19Jay McCarthy (Australia)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Michael Valgren Andersen (Denmark)Row 19 - Cell 2
21Sven Erik Bystrøm (Norway)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Sebastian Lander (Denmark)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Janis Dakteris (Latvia)Row 22 - Cell 2
24Tobias Ludvigsson (Sweden)Row 23 - Cell 2
25Michel Koch (Germany)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Sean Patrick Downey (Ireland)Row 25 - Cell 2
27Arman Kamyshev (Kazakhstan)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Ilia Koshevoy (Belarus)Row 27 - Cell 2
29Nikias Arndt (Germany)Row 28 - Cell 2
30Juan Ernesto Chamorro (Colombia)Row 29 - Cell 2
31Kristian Haugaard Jensen (Denmark)Row 30 - Cell 2
32Philip Lavery (Ireland)Row 31 - Cell 2
33Karel Hnik (Czech Republic)Row 32 - Cell 2
34Kirill Yatsevich (Russian Federation)Row 33 - Cell 2
35Natnael Brhane Teweldemedhin (Eritrea)Row 34 - Cell 2
36Rick Zabel (Germany)Row 35 - Cell 2
37Joshua Atkins (New Zealand)Row 36 - Cell 2
38Gijs Van Hoecke (Belgium)Row 37 - Cell 2
39Fabio Felline (Italy)Row 38 - Cell 2
40James Oram (New Zealand)Row 39 - Cell 2
41Vegard Breen (Norway)Row 40 - Cell 2
42Pit Schlechter (Luxembourg)Row 41 - Cell 2
43Nathan Davis Brown (United States of America)Row 42 - Cell 2
44Tim Mikelj (Slovenia)Row 43 - Cell 2
45Jan Hirt (Czech Republic)Row 44 - Cell 2
46Alex Kirsch (Luxembourg)Row 45 - Cell 2
47Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spain)Row 46 - Cell 2
48Pawel Poljanski (Poland)Row 47 - Cell 2
49Gavin Mannion (United States of America)Row 48 - Cell 2
50Joshua Edmondson (Great Britain)Row 49 - Cell 2
51Jasper Stuyven (Belgium)Row 50 - Cell 2
52Warren Barguil (France)Row 51 - Cell 2
53Georg Preidler (Austria)0:00:09
54Tom Skujins (Latvia)0:00:15
55Tom Thill (Luxembourg)0:00:25
56Oleksandr Prevar (Ukraine)Row 55 - Cell 2
57Eiichi Hirai (Japan)Row 56 - Cell 2
58Sergei Chernetski (Russian Federation)Row 57 - Cell 2
59Andrei Holubeu (Belarus)Row 58 - Cell 2
60Reda Aadel (Morocco)Row 59 - Cell 2
61Piotr Gawronski (Poland)Row 60 - Cell 2
62Magnus Cort Nielsen (Denmark)Row 61 - Cell 2
63Marcel Aregger (Switzerland)Row 62 - Cell 2
64Daniil Fominykh (Kazakhstan)Row 63 - Cell 2
65Lukasz Wisniowski (Poland)Row 64 - Cell 2
66Josef Cerny (Czech Republic)Row 65 - Cell 2
67Louis Meintjes (South Africa)Row 66 - Cell 2
68Andris Smirnovs (Latvia)Row 67 - Cell 2
69King Lok Cheung (Hong Kong, China)Row 68 - Cell 2
70Gennady Tatarinov (Russian Federation)Row 69 - Cell 2
71Sebastian Anaya (Venezuela)Row 70 - Cell 2
72Sebastian Henao Gomez (Colombia)Row 71 - Cell 2
73Pawel Bernas (Poland)Row 72 - Cell 2
74Davide Villella (Italy)Row 73 - Cell 2
75Daan Olivier (Netherlands)Row 74 - Cell 2
76Nikola Kozomara (Serbia)0:00:31
77Antoine Duchesne (Canada)Row 76 - Cell 2
78Anasse Ait El Abdia (Morocco)Row 77 - Cell 2
79Adam Phelan (Australia)Row 78 - Cell 2
80Lukas Postlberger (Austria)Row 79 - Cell 2
81Anton Vorobyev (Russian Federation)Row 80 - Cell 2
82Maxime Daniel (France)Row 81 - Cell 2
83Vladislav Gorbunov (Kazakhstan)Row 82 - Cell 2
84Emanuel Buchmann (Germany)Row 83 - Cell 2
85Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands)Row 84 - Cell 2
86Jan Sokol (Austria)Row 85 - Cell 2
87Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Ethiopia)Row 86 - Cell 2
88Jakub Filip (Czech Republic)Row 87 - Cell 2
89Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentina)Row 88 - Cell 2
90Danny Van Poppel (Netherlands)Row 89 - Cell 2
91Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (United States of America)Row 90 - Cell 2
92Nikita Umerbekov (Kazakhstan)Row 91 - Cell 2
93Damien Howson (Australia)Row 92 - Cell 2
94Klemen Stimulak (Slovenia)Row 93 - Cell 2
95Mark Dzamastagic (Slovenia)Row 94 - Cell 2
96Enrico Barbin (Italy)Row 95 - Cell 2
97Scott Thwaites (Great Britain)Row 96 - Cell 2
98Jasha Sütterlin (Germany)0:01:14
99Anatoliy Sosnitskiy (Ukraine)0:01:35
100Théo Vimpere (France)0:01:43
101Angelo Tulik (France)Row 100 - Cell 2
102Bob Jungels (Luxembourg)0:02:24
103Andrea Fedi (Italy)0:02:48
104Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Italy)Row 103 - Cell 2
105Thomas Scully (New Zealand)0:03:18
106Mattia Cattaneo (Italy)Row 105 - Cell 2
107Jhonatha Salinas (Venezuela)Row 106 - Cell 2
108Simon Yates (Great Britain)0:03:34
109Salaheddine Mraouni (Morocco)0:04:08
110Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Denmark)0:06:29
111Maxat Ayazbayev (Kazakhstan)0:07:16
112Kim Magnusson (Sweden)Row 111 - Cell 2
113Ali Riza Tanriverdi (Turkey)0:09:38
114Dieter Bouvry (Belgium)0:10:09
115Nikita Zharoven (Belarus)0:10:18
116August Jensen (Norway)0:13:00
HDAdel Barbari (Algeria)Row 116 - Cell 2
HDOlivier Le Gac (France)Row 117 - Cell 2
HDPanagiotis Chatzakis (Greece)Row 118 - Cell 2
HDTomohiro Kinoshita (Japan)Row 119 - Cell 2
HDTakero Terasaki (Japan)Row 120 - Cell 2
HDMieszko Bulik (Poland)Row 121 - Cell 2
HDMats Andersson (Sweden)Row 122 - Cell 2
HDFernando Briceño (Venezuela)Row 123 - Cell 2
DNFGabriel Chavanne (Switzerland)Row 124 - Cell 2
DNFZico Waeytens (Belgium)Row 125 - Cell 2
DNFJack Wilson (Ireland)Row 126 - Cell 2
DNFYonder Godoy (Venezuela)Row 127 - Cell 2
DNFMuhammad Zulhilmie Afif Ahmad Zamri (Malaysia)Row 128 - Cell 2
DNFIan Boswell (United States of America)Row 129 - Cell 2
DNFNick Aitken (Australia)Row 130 - Cell 2
DNFJan Tratnik (Slovenia)Row 131 - Cell 2
DNFRohan Dennis (Australia)Row 132 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Freiberg (Australia)Row 133 - Cell 2
DNFManuel Andres Sanchez Cuevas (Dominican Republic)Row 134 - Cell 2
DNFAndreas Hofer (Austria)Row 135 - Cell 2
DNFJorge Abreu (Venezuela)Row 136 - Cell 2
DNFSiarhei Safonau (Belarus)Row 137 - Cell 2
DNFHillard Cijntje (Netherlands Antilles)Row 138 - Cell 2
DNFFaycal Hamza (Algeria)Row 139 - Cell 2
DNFOmar Muhammad Faiz Izzuddin (Malaysia)Row 140 - Cell 2
DNFNik Mohd Azwan Zulkifle (Malaysia)Row 141 - Cell 2
DNFKi Ho Choi (Hong Kong, China)Row 142 - Cell 2
DNFHiroshi Tsubaki (Japan)Row 143 - Cell 2
DNFQuinten Winkel (Netherlands Antilles)Row 144 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Boily (Canada)Row 145 - Cell 2
DNFFilip Eidsheim (Norway)Row 146 - Cell 2
DNFJonas Ahlstrand (Sweden)Row 147 - Cell 2
DNFAndzs Flaksis (Latvia)Row 148 - Cell 2
DNFUlises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mexico)Row 149 - Cell 2
DNFSofian Nabil Mohammed Bakri (Malaysia)Row 150 - Cell 2
DNFHamidun Hamdan (Malaysia)Row 151 - Cell 2
DNFJesper Dahlström (Sweden)Row 152 - Cell 2
DNFOleksandr Golovash (Ukraine)Row 153 - Cell 2
DNFCarlos Eduardo Quisphe-Quisphe (Ecuador)Row 154 - Cell 2
DNFArmands Becis (Latvia)Row 155 - Cell 2
DNFBryan Van Rutten (Netherlands Antilles)Row 156 - Cell 2

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