Worlds: Cosnefroy wins men's under-23 road race

Benoit Cosnefroy (France) claimed victory in the men's U23 road race at the 2017 World Championships, beating Germany's Lennard Kämna in a two-up sprint at the end of a breathless 191 kilometres of racing in Bergen.

The 21-year-old, who turned pro with the AG2R-La Mondiale team at the beginning of August, attacked from a chase group towards the end of the final descent of Salmon Hill, with Kämna having gone solo just before the climb had started.

The duo managed to escape the advances of the chasers in the final few kilometres and Cosnefroy opened up the sprint and comfortably held off Kämna.

The reduced peloton crossed the line just three seconds down, Denmark's Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Denmark) clinching the bronze medal.

For Cosnefroy, it was the culmination of a remarkable week and few months. After signing the pro contract with AG2R he wasted no time in grabbing his first victory last weekend at the GP d'Isbergues – in a two-up sprint that no doubt served him well here.

He is the fourth Frenchman to win the U23 world title, after Romain Sicard (2009), Arnaud Démare (2011), and Kevin Ledanois (2015). However, as a rider who already rides at WorldTour level, he will have no opportunity to race with the rainbow jersey next year.

"There was no protected rider. We were a strong collective and we could have probably all have won the world title. We worked together to do the best race possible and it worked out," said Cosnefroy.

"I didn't know my rival that well and just focused on myself and not on him, I hoped to win and focused on winning the sprint."

The final lap

The 191km route was based on 10 laps of the rolling 19.1km Bergen circuit that features in all the road races at these World Championships. Salmon Hill is the centerpiece, a climb of 1.4km at a gradient of 6.5 per cent that tops out 11 kilometres from the line – roughly five of which are downhill.

Despite constant movements and developments on the opening nine laps, the peloton – though by now down to little more than 60 riders – was all together as they took the bell for the final lap.

After a flurry of early attacks, Cosnefroy found himself in a chase group of nine riders behind his teammate Benjamin Thomas. As the road kicked up ahead of the climb, Thomas was caught, leaving five out front with a slim lead – but then Kämna attacked from the peloton and was over to them in no time.

It wasn't long before the German kicked again, using his time trialling skills to forge clear on the flat and take a handful of seconds onto Salmon Hill. He dug in on the climb and took 10 seconds over the top, by which point Cosnefroy was in a chasing group that had expanded to seven.

He soon rolled the dice with some daring descending and bridged over to Kämna, with the pair well aware they needed to go all-in to stand a chance of a medal.

Colombian's Wilmar Paredes was the last of the chasing group to be caught by the pack, as Spain's Ivan García Cortina, who rides for Bahrain-Merida, tried to bridge over – but his ship had already sailed.

In a nailbiting finale that bodes well for the elite road races this weekend, the peloton, led predominantly by Denmark as last year's champion and home rider Kristoffer Halvorsen had been dropped earlier, was only 15 seconds back throughout the final few kilometres.

Kämna attacked Cosnefroy briefly with 3.7km to go but otherwise they traded turns all the way to the final few hundred metres. By that point the pack was bearing down but there was enough time to take a breath before playing out the sprint. Cosnefroy used his GP d'Isbergues experience to take on the responsibility and drive for the line, with Kämna unable to come round.

The early moves

As is often the case with the U23 road race, it was a fast and frenetic day in the saddle, with the race situation and complexion constantly changing. A six-rider breakaway – containing the prodigious Russian Pavel Sivakov – went clear on the opening lap and they were later joined by several more riders.

They opened up a lead of 2:30 after a couple of laps, and there was calm in the peloton all the way to the half-way point.

The race really came to life courtesy of Brandon McNulty, who had finished runner-up in the U23 time trial. He attacked from the peloton and closed in on the break. The peloton reacted and were drawing ever closer, too, but McNulty made the catch and went to the front of what was now a reduced lead group.

It was the fourth to last lap and as the climb of Salmon Hill began the race was almost back together, but McNulty accelerated again and dragged a group clear. In there were: Jai Hindley (Australia), Pavel Sivakov (Russia), Rasmus Fossum Tiller (Norway), Patrick Muller (Switzerland), Gustav Hoog (Sweden). They were soon joined by Scott Davies (Great Britain) and Yevgeniy Gidich (Kazakhstan) to make it eight.

They opened up a lead of 1:30 before there was a reaction from the peloton, with nine riders – including two Spaniards – settling into a chase group. On the third to last ascent of Salmon Hill, McNulty and Hoog were dropped from the lead group as the chasing group was caught by the peloton and Spain took up the reins. 

Going into the penultimate lap there were now six in the lead with an advantage of 30 seconds, but it was all back together by to lower slopes of Salmon Hill as the leaders looked at each other. Belgian climber Bjorg Lambrecht attacked over the top but was caught on the descent, as the peloton strung out towards Bergen and the bell.

Davies, with Britain now thinking about the sprint for Oli Wood, was back on the front setting a fast tempo to control the strung-out bunch. He pulled over as the bell sounded, and the attacks came thick and fast, with Cosnefroy emerging from the chaos to take a huge victory.

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Benoit Cosnefroy (France)4:48:23
2Lennard Kamna (Germany)Row 1 - Cell 2
3Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Denmark)0:00:03
4Oliver Wood (Great Britain)Row 3 - Cell 2
5Vincenzo Albanese (Italy)Row 4 - Cell 2
6Damien Touze (France)Row 5 - Cell 2
7Max Kanter (Germany)Row 6 - Cell 2
8Michal Paluta (Poland)Row 7 - Cell 2
9Mark Downey (Ireland)Row 8 - Cell 2
10Anders Skaarseth (Norway)Row 9 - Cell 2
11German Nicolas Tivani Perez (Argentina)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Patrick Muller (Switzerland)Row 11 - Cell 2
13Stylianos Farantakis (Greece)Row 12 - Cell 2
14Marc Hirschi (Switzerland)Row 13 - Cell 2
15Bjorg Lambrecht (Belgium)Row 14 - Cell 2
16Aleksandr Riabushenko (Belarus)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Wilmar Andres Paredes Zapata (Colombia)Row 16 - Cell 2
18Giovanni Carboni (Italy)Row 17 - Cell 2
19Emiel Planckaert (Belgium)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia)Row 19 - Cell 2
21Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spain)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Callum Scotson (Australia)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Pavel Sivakov (Russian Federation)Row 22 - Cell 2
24Lucas Eriksson (Sweden)Row 23 - Cell 2
25Jon Irisarri Rincon (Spain)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Jaakko Hanninen (Finland)Row 25 - Cell 2
27Rasmus Fossum Tiller (Norway)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Pascal Eenkhoorn (Netherlands)Row 27 - Cell 2
29Valentin Madouas (France)Row 28 - Cell 2
30Michael Storer (Australia)Row 29 - Cell 2
31Kevin Geniets (Luxembourg)Row 30 - Cell 2
32Stan Dewulf (Belgium)Row 31 - Cell 2
33Mauricio Moreira (Uruguay)Row 32 - Cell 2
34Michal Schlegel (Czech Republic)Row 33 - Cell 2
35Casper Pedersen (Denmark)Row 34 - Cell 2
36Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Colombia)Row 35 - Cell 2
37Artem Nych (Russian Federation)Row 36 - Cell 2
38James Shaw (Great Britain)Row 37 - Cell 2
39Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Denmark)Row 38 - Cell 2
40Mark Stewart (Great Britain)0:00:20
41Alvaro Jose Hodeg Chagui (Colombia)0:01:01
42Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark)Row 41 - Cell 2
43Ziga Jerman (Slovenia)0:01:04
44Robert Stannard (Australia)Row 43 - Cell 2
45Piotr Brozyna (Poland)Row 44 - Cell 2
46Hayato Okamoto (Japan)0:01:50
46Dusan Rajovic (Serbia)Row 46 - Cell 2
48Gasper Katrasnik (Slovenia)Row 47 - Cell 2
49Izidor Penko (Slovenia)Row 48 - Cell 2
50Kamil Malecki (Poland)Row 49 - Cell 2
51Yuriy Natarov (Kazakhstan)Row 50 - Cell 2
52Lukas Ruegg (Switzerland)Row 51 - Cell 2
53Joris Nieuwenhuis (Netherlands)Row 52 - Cell 2
54William Barta (United States Of America)Row 53 - Cell 2
55Anatolii Budiak (Ukraine)Row 54 - Cell 2
56Kasper Asgreen (Denmark)Row 55 - Cell 2
57Johannes Schinnagel (Germany)Row 56 - Cell 2
58Edoardo Affini (Italy)Row 57 - Cell 2
59Takeaki Amezawa (Japan)Row 58 - Cell 2
60Nicola Conci (Italy)0:01:55
61Tom Wirtgen (Luxembourg)0:02:16
62Gino Mader (Switzerland)0:02:50
63Nikolai Cherkasov (Russian Federation)0:03:00
64Jai Hindley (Australia)Row 63 - Cell 2
65Petr Rikunov (Russian Federation)0:04:44
66Yevgeniy Gidich (Kazakhstan)Row 65 - Cell 2
67Francisco Campos (Portugal)Row 66 - Cell 2
68Benjamin Thomas (France)0:06:11
69Daire Feeley (Ireland)0:06:23
70Franck Bonnamour (France)Row 69 - Cell 2
71Jeremy Lecroq (France)Row 70 - Cell 2
72Mikkel Froelich Honore (Denmark)Row 71 - Cell 2
73Grigoriy Shtein (Kazakhstan)Row 72 - Cell 2
74Roman Lehky (Czech Republic)Row 73 - Cell 2
75Patrick Gamper (Austria)Row 74 - Cell 2
76Vadim Pronskiy (Kazakhstan)Row 75 - Cell 2
77Karl Patrick Lauk (Estonia)Row 76 - Cell 2
78Luke Mudgway (New Zealand)Row 77 - Cell 2
79Matic Groselj (Slovenia)Row 78 - Cell 2
80Hector Carretero (Spain)Row 79 - Cell 2
81Ole Forfang (Norway)Row 80 - Cell 2
82Dmitrii Strakhov (Russian Federation)Row 81 - Cell 2
83Erik Sandersson (Sweden)Row 82 - Cell 2
84Sam Dobbs (New Zealand)Row 83 - Cell 2
85Kristoffer Halvorsen (Norway)Row 84 - Cell 2
86Piet Allegaert (Belgium)Row 85 - Cell 2
87Florian Nowak (Germany)Row 86 - Cell 2
88Tobias S. Foss (Norway)Row 87 - Cell 2
89James Knox (Great Britain)0:06:28
90Alan Banaszek (Poland)0:07:34
91Soufiane Sahbaoui (Morocco)Row 90 - Cell 2
92Neilson Powless (United States Of America)Row 91 - Cell 2
93Nickolas Zukowsky (Canada)Row 92 - Cell 2
94Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spain)Row 93 - Cell 2
95Scott Davies (Great Britain)0:09:16
96André Carvalho (Portugal)Row 95 - Cell 2
97Ethan Hayter (Great Britain)Row 96 - Cell 2
98Jakub Otruba (Czech Republic)Row 97 - Cell 2
99Jasper Philipsen (Belgium)Row 98 - Cell 2
100Barnabas Peak (Hungary)Row 99 - Cell 2
101Ivo Oliveira (Portugal)Row 100 - Cell 2
102Justin Oien (United States Of America)Row 101 - Cell 2
103Zahiri Abderrahim (Morocco)Row 102 - Cell 2
104Mohcine El Kouraji (Morocco)0:11:07
105Andrej Petrovski (Macedonia)Row 104 - Cell 2
106Pit Leyder (Luxembourg)Row 105 - Cell 2
107Szymon Sajnok (Poland)Row 106 - Cell 2
108Julius Van Den Berg (Netherlands)Row 107 - Cell 2
109Bram Welten (Netherlands)Row 108 - Cell 2
110Senne Leysen (Belgium)Row 109 - Cell 2
111Atsushi Oka (Japan)0:13:24
112Dinmukhammed Ulysbayev (Kazakhstan)0:16:13
113Gustav Hoog (Sweden)Row 112 - Cell 2
114Matteo Moschetti (Italy)Row 113 - Cell 2
115Jan Andrej Cully (Slovakia)0:17:04
116Awet Habtom Tekle (Eritrea)Row 115 - Cell 2
117Darragh O'mahony (Ireland)Row 116 - Cell 2
118Abderrahmane Mansouri (Algeria)Row 117 - Cell 2
119Orluis Aular (Venezuela)Row 118 - Cell 2
120Syver Westgaard Waersted (Norway)Row 119 - Cell 2
121Regan Gough (New Zealand)Row 120 - Cell 2
DNFJack Burke (Canada)Row 121 - Cell 2
DNFBenjamin Brkic (Austria)Row 122 - Cell 2
DNFYahor Shpakouski (Belarus)Row 123 - Cell 2
DNFBrandon Mcnulty (United States Of America)Row 124 - Cell 2
DNFJaime Castrillo Zapater (Spain)Row 125 - Cell 2
DNFJason Andrey Huertas Araya (Costa Rica)Row 126 - Cell 2
DNFPatrick Haller (Germany)Row 127 - Cell 2
DNFMykyta Zubenko (Ukraine)Row 128 - Cell 2
DNFKa Hoo Fung (Hong Kong, China)Row 129 - Cell 2
DNFIan Garrison (United States Of America)Row 130 - Cell 2
DNFEriks Toms Gavars (Latvia)Row 131 - Cell 2
DNFLuis Ricardo Villalobos Hernandez (Mexico)Row 132 - Cell 2
DNFMarkus Freiberger (Austria)Row 133 - Cell 2
DNFUladzimir Harakhavik (Belarus)Row 134 - Cell 2
DNFRei Onodera (Japan)Row 135 - Cell 2
DNFAndreas Miltiadis (Cyprus)Row 136 - Cell 2
DNFIslam Mansouri (Algeria)Row 137 - Cell 2
DNFTegshbayar Batsaikhan (Mongolia)Row 138 - Cell 2
DNFYacine Hamza (Algeria)Row 139 - Cell 2
DNFIlya Volkau (Belarus)Row 140 - Cell 2
DNFAdam Stenson (Ireland)Row 141 - Cell 2
DNFSaymon Musie Mehari (Eritrea)Row 142 - Cell 2
DNFNorman Vahtra (Estonia)Row 143 - Cell 2
DNFVasili Strokau (Belarus)Row 144 - Cell 2
DNFKlavs Rubenis (Latvia)Row 145 - Cell 2
DNFSamuel Mugisha (Rwanda)Row 146 - Cell 2
DNFJose Fernandes (Portugal)Row 147 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Moricz (Hungary)Row 148 - Cell 2
DNFElgun Alizada (Azerbaijan)Row 149 - Cell 2
DNFEl Mehdi Chokri (Morocco)Row 150 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Cowan (Canada)Row 151 - Cell 2
DNFJanos Zsombor Pelikan (Hungary)Row 152 - Cell 2
DNFPier-Andre Cote (Canada)Row 153 - Cell 2
DNFMarc-Antoine Soucy (Canada)Row 154 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew Teggart (Ireland)Row 155 - Cell 2
DNFMatias Alejandro Munoz Tapia (Chile)Row 156 - Cell 2
DNFKarl-Arnold Vendelin (Estonia)Row 157 - Cell 2
DNFJohn Anderson Rodriguez Salazar (Colombia)Row 158 - Cell 2
DNFMasaki Yamamoto (Japan)Row 159 - Cell 2
DNFNikolay Genov (Bulgaria)Row 160 - Cell 2
DNFJoseph Areruya (Rwanda)Row 161 - Cell 2
DNFMusa Mikayilzade (Azerbaijan)Row 162 - Cell 2
DNFZemenfes Selemun (Eritrea)Row 163 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Jara Rodriguez (Costa Rica)Row 164 - Cell 2
DNFMehari Tesfatsion (Eritrea)Row 165 - Cell 2
DNFZisis Soulios (Greece)Row 166 - Cell 2
DNFVitaliy Novakovskyi (Ukraine)Row 167 - Cell 2
DNFTomas Contte (Argentina)Row 168 - Cell 2
DNFSilver Maoma (Estonia)Row 169 - Cell 2
DNFFabio Jakobsen (Netherlands)Row 170 - Cell 2
DNFJoni Kanerva (Finland)Row 171 - Cell 2
DNFVictor Langellotti (Monaco)Row 172 - Cell 2
DNFAttila Valter (Hungary)Row 173 - Cell 2
DNFRoy Roukoz (Lebanon)Row 174 - Cell 2
DNFOmer Goldshtein (Israel)Row 175 - Cell 2
DNSChristofer Jurado Lopez (Panama)Row 176 - Cell 2
DNSCharles Kagimu (Uganda)Row 177 - Cell 2

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