Slovakian Peter Sagan made history in Bergen, becoming the first male to win three straight rainbow jerseys. Sagan now joins Alfredo Binda, Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Steenbergen and Óscar Freire as the only riders with three gold medals in the premier event.
Having sat in the peloton all day, conserving energy, Sagan popped out inside the final 150 metres of the race to pip local favourite Alexander Kristoff and Michael Matthews (Australia). The win was Sagan's narrowest of his three which he dedicated to Michele Scaroni and his wife.
The 90th edition of the UCI Road World Championships will be held in Bergen this September 17–24. It is the second time Norway will host the prestigious event and first time since 1993 when Lance Armstrong and Leontien van Moorsel won the rainbow jersey.
The 2017 Worlds will start September 17 with the men and women's team time trial, followed by the time trial events, and the road races. The men's road race is the final event on the schedule, taking place on Sunday, September 24 over 276.5km. The elite men's road race is the longest since 1981 when Prague hosted the event.
The most eye-catching of the courses in Bergen is the men's time trial which sees the riders finish atop the 3.4km Mount Floyen. The climb features gradients of 10 per cent with the 31km course the shortest in the event's history.
The road race events will take place on a 19.1km loop, borrowing roads from the time trial course, with Salmon Hill sure to test the legs following repeat ascents. The men will complete 12 laps of the course and the elite women will ride eight laps.
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Peter Sagan of Slovakia is the current men's road race world champion and will be aiming for an unprecedented third straight rainbow jersey. German Tony Martin is the current men's time trial world champion
Dane Amalie Dideriksen is the women's road race champion while American Amber Neben is the time trial world champion.
