Evans becomes road World Champion in Mendrisio

Cadel Evans (Australia) is the new world champion. That is not a sentence that many would have imagined at 10:30 am in Mendrisio, when 202 riders set out for 19 laps of a 13.8km circuit, for a total distance of 262.2km, but, seven hours later, it was the Australian who appeared alone at the finish. His opportunistic attack at the foot of the final climb, 5km from the end, brought him a success that was as spectacular as it was surprising.

Since it was his first major one-day win, Evans was perhaps not versed in the art of victory celebrations. His were far from elaborate. He raised one hand to his mouth, blowing a kiss to the left, then one to the right, before patting his chest and kissing the ring that dangled on a chain around his neck - his wedding ring, he revealed later. The tears followed, understandably.

The home favourite Fabian Cancellara, who had set his heart on doing the double after winning Thursday's time trial, was a key protagonist over the crucial final two laps, though he eventually missed out, crossing the line a disconsolate fifth. The tears followed for him, too.

It was on the penultimate lap, on the descent of the Acqua Fresca, that Cancellara, anonymous until then, finally made his move, opening the throttle and bridging the gap to a dangerous looking lead group that had just formed. It included Kim Kirchen (Luxembourg), Oliver Zaugg (Switzerland) and two survivors of an earlier move in Luca Paolini (Italy) and Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium).

Damiano Cunego (Italy) and Philippe Gilbert (Belgium) were among those who followed in Cancellara's wake, though the rest of a diminished field - down to not many more than 20 bodies - was not far behind.

Zaugg put in a power of work for his Swiss teammate, but they were caught and the Italians took over, Filippo Pozzato and Ivan Basso leading up the second climb, the Novazzano, the summit of which came only 2.8km before the line.

Coming through for the bell, though, it was a familiar figure out front on his own. UCI president Pat McQuaid had suggested, 24 hours earlier, that he would be less than happy to have to present the rainbow jersey to Alejandro Valverde of Spain, who remains under suspicion for his alleged involvement in Operacion Puerto.

But the idea of presenting it instead to the rider now on the attack must have filled him with a similar dread. The escapee was Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan), who recently returned from a two-year ban for blood doping.

"Vino" was captured, but attacked again going through Mendrisio, building a healthy-looking lead until a counterattack by Alexandr Kolobnev (Russia) helped bring him back. Cancellara, meanwhile, had another dig on the final downhill section between the two climbs, this time opening the gap with another skillful descender, Samuel Sanchez (Spain), who ignored the Swiss rider's invitation to come through and capitalise on their advantage.

Yet that move did prompt the crucial selection. A nine-man lead group formed, with most of the Italians eliminated - only Cunego was left. Sanchez, in contrast, had three teammates - Valverde, Joaquin Rodriguez and three-time champion Oscar Freire - and apparently all the cards.

It was inevitable that a Spaniard would attack, and it was Rodriguez, launching a cheeky attack up the left side before the climb of Novazzano - the final climb of the race. It was cheeky because the road split in two at this point, with a border up the middle, but, when the border disappeared and the road opened back up, Kolobnev and Evans jumped after him. As Evans explained later, "Spain had the numbers. When one Spanish guy went away, no one was going to chase him down, so that's why when Spain made a move, I made sure I was there."

Yet when Evans jumped clear, at the foot of the climb, Rodriguez seemed unable to react. He sat behind Kolobnev, no doubt hoping that a teammate would come up from behind, but it didn't happen. Instead, Cancellara cut a forlorn figure on the front of the chase group - a misnomer, since it wasn't actually chasing - looking around for help, but with no response.

Evans had 13 seconds over Kolobnev and Rodriguez at the top of the climb, and 24 seconds on the group behind. It was enough. He put his head down and raced for the finish. "I've been thinking about this race for two years," said a tearful Evans, who lives only 3km from the circuit. But surely even he - in his wildest dreams - couldn't have foreseen this outcome.

A long day

The first half of the world title race was dominated by an early break, which went clear as early as the first lap, with Matija Kvasina (Croatia), Christoph Sokoll (Austria), Peter Kusztor (Hungary), Jan Barta (Czech Republic), Yukiya Arashiro (Japan) and the surprise infiltrator, Andre Greipel (Germany), fresh from his four stage wins at the Vuelta a Espana.

Thirty seconds clear at the end of the first lap of 13.8km, with its two testing climbs and very little respite in between, they had doubled that advantage a lap later. A chasing group of four then formed behind them on the third lap, containing Mauricio Ardila (Colombia), Gorazd Stangelj (Slovenia), Volodymyr Zagorodny (Ukraine) and Olegs Melehs (Latvia), and they came together on the climb out of Mendrisio - the Acqua Fresca - to make a lead group of 10.

With none of the major nations represented - apart, perhaps, from Greipel for Germany - they were able to capitalise on the peloton's indifference, steadily building a lead that nudged ten minutes after six laps, with almost a third of the race covered. It was at this point, though, that the race proper began for at least one of the Italian team - Marzio Bruseghin.

The Lampre veteran put in an incredible shift, leading the bunch for lap after lap - he led them through the start/finish area for an incredible six laps in succession - and almost single-handedly reduced the break's advantage.

By the time that Bruseghin clocked off - his shift ending after eleven laps, or with almost two-thirds completed - it was down to around six minutes, but his clocking off coincided with a more significant development involving four of the Azzurri, including the defending World Champion Alessandro Ballan.

Ballan, Michele Scarponi, Giovanni Visconti (all Italy), Joaquin Rodriguez (Spain), Greg Van Avermaet and Francis De Greef (both Belgium), Michael Albasini (Switzerland), Paul Maertens (Germany) and Johnny Hoogerland (Netherlands) formed a dangerous-looking nine-man group - so dangerous that they were hunted down by a counter-move of 20 men.

That group included former champion Tom Boonen and two more Belgian teammates, another Italian - Luca Paolini - as well as Michael Rogers (Australia), Kim Kirchen (Luxembourg), Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) and two more Spaniards in Juan Jose Cobo and Carlos Barredo. As the two groups merged to form one of some 29 riders, that mix was interesting - four Italians, four Belgians and three Spanish.

Behind, it was initially the Norwegian team of Edvald Boasson Hagen who led the chase, before Australia, with Adam Hansen, Stuart O'Grady and Matthew Hayman all prominent, took over.

The Ballan group gained a minute-and-a-half on the peloton, while the break continued to dangle out front. Coming up for four laps to go, though, and it was down to a precarious 36 seconds, with the bunch a further 45 seconds back. It looked then as though it would all come back together, but then, with the early break swallowed up, the gap stretched back out - to two minutes over the next lap.

As is often the case in the World Championships, however, the race didn't erupt until the final two laps. The Italians and Spaniards predictably massed at the front, but it was to be a race with a twist - and one that justified all that work by the Cyclones, who, a couple of hours later, could celebrate Australia's first ever world road race champion.

Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Cadel Evans (Australia)6:56:26
2Alexandr Kolobnev (Russian Federation)0:00:27
3Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spain)Row 2 - Cell 2
4Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spain)0:00:30
5Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)Row 4 - Cell 2
6Philippe Gilbert (Belgium)0:00:51
7Matti Breschel (Denmark)Row 6 - Cell 2
8Damiano Cunego (Italy)Row 7 - Cell 2
9Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spain)Row 8 - Cell 2
10Simon Gerrans (Australia)0:01:47
11Fabian Wegmann (Germany)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Norway)Row 11 - Cell 2
13Chris Sörensen (Denmark)0:01:59
14Johnny Hoogerland (Netherlands)0:02:02
15Oscar Freire Gomez (Spain)Row 14 - Cell 2
16Ivan Basso (Italy)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Portugal)0:02:44
18Michael Barry (Canada)Row 17 - Cell 2
19Serguei Ivanov (Russian Federation)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Karsten Kroon (Netherlands)0:02:50
21Filippo Pozzato (Italy)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Leonardo Fabio Duque (Colombia)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Koos Moerenhout (Netherlands)Row 22 - Cell 2
24Sylvester Szmyd (Poland)Row 23 - Cell 2
25Kevin De Weert (Belgium)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan)Row 25 - Cell 2
27Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Oliver Zaugg (Switzerland)Row 27 - Cell 2
29Sylvain Chavanel (France)Row 28 - Cell 2
30Ignatas Konovalovas (Lithuania)Row 29 - Cell 2
31Alexandre Botcharov (Russian Federation)Row 30 - Cell 2
32Tadej Valjavec (Slovenia)Row 31 - Cell 2
33Thomas Lövkvist (Sweden)Row 32 - Cell 2
34Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Portugal)Row 33 - Cell 2
35Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia)Row 34 - Cell 2
36Robert Gesink (Netherlands)0:03:01
37Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Colombia)0:03:21
38Tom Boonen (Belgium)Row 37 - Cell 2
39Bert De Waele (Belgium)Row 38 - Cell 2
40Philip Deignan (Ireland)Row 39 - Cell 2
41Alessandro Ballan (Italy)Row 40 - Cell 2
42Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spain)Row 41 - Cell 2
43Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark)0:03:45
44Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium)Row 43 - Cell 2
45Kim Kirchen (Luxembourg)0:04:20
46Pierrick Fedrigo (France)0:04:29
47Marcus Ljungqvist (Sweden)0:05:20
48Gorazd Stangelj (Slovenia)Row 47 - Cell 2
49Jussi Veikkanen (Finland)Row 48 - Cell 2
50José Rujano Guillen (Venezuela)Row 49 - Cell 2
51Eduard Vorganov (Russian Federation)Row 50 - Cell 2
52Steven Cummings (Great Britain)Row 51 - Cell 2
53Andriy Grivko (Ukraine)Row 52 - Cell 2
54Kristjan Fajt (Slovenia)Row 53 - Cell 2
55Murilo Antonio Fischer (Brazil)Row 54 - Cell 2
56Kanstantin Siutsou (Belarus)Row 55 - Cell 2
57Fumiyuki Beppu (Japan)Row 56 - Cell 2
58Assan Bazayev (Kazakhstan)Row 57 - Cell 2
59Craig Lewis (United States Of America)Row 58 - Cell 2
60Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway)Row 59 - Cell 2
61Christophe Riblon (France)Row 60 - Cell 2
62Przemyslaw Niemiec (Poland)Row 61 - Cell 2
63Nick Nuyens (Belgium)Row 62 - Cell 2
64Matthew Lloyd (Australia)0:06:07
65Luca Paolini (Italy)0:07:43
66Dmitriy Fofonov (Kazakhstan)Row 65 - Cell 2
67Thomas Voeckler (France)Row 66 - Cell 2
68Daniel Martin (Ireland)0:08:22
69Rui Alberto Rui Costa (Portugal)Row 68 - Cell 2
70Vladimir Miholjevic (Croatia)0:10:54
71Stefano Garzelli (Italy)Row 70 - Cell 2
72Oleksandr Kvachuk (Ukraine)Row 71 - Cell 2
73Bartosz Huzarski (Poland)Row 72 - Cell 2
74Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Colombia)Row 73 - Cell 2
75Carlos José Ochoa (Venezuela)Row 74 - Cell 2
76Hrvoje Miholjevic (Croatia)Row 75 - Cell 2
77Aleksejs Saramotins (Latvia)Row 76 - Cell 2
78Fredrik Kessiakoff (Sweden)Row 77 - Cell 2
79Grischa Niermann (Germany)Row 78 - Cell 2
79Timothy Duggan (United States Of America)Row 79 - Cell 2
81Stian Remme (Norway)Row 80 - Cell 2
82Michael Albasini (Switzerland)Row 81 - Cell 2
83Franklin Chacon Colmenares (Venezuela)Row 82 - Cell 2
84René Mandri (Estonia)Row 83 - Cell 2
85Pavel Brutt (Russian Federation)Row 84 - Cell 2
86Michal Golas (Poland)Row 85 - Cell 2
87Gabriel Rasch (Norway)Row 86 - Cell 2
88Maarten Wynants (Belgium)Row 87 - Cell 2
89Maxime Monfort (Belgium)Row 88 - Cell 2
90Martin Velits (Slovakia)Row 89 - Cell 2
91Lars Boom (Netherlands)Row 90 - Cell 2
92Roger Hammond (Great Britain)Row 91 - Cell 2
93Christophe Le Mevel (France)Row 92 - Cell 2
94Thomas Peterson (United States Of America)Row 93 - Cell 2
95Dimitri Champion (France)Row 94 - Cell 2
96Hayden Roulston (New Zealand)Row 95 - Cell 2
97Maxim Iglinsky (Kazakhstan)Row 96 - Cell 2
98Mccartney Jason (United States Of America)Row 97 - Cell 2
99Johannes Fröhlinger (Germany)Row 98 - Cell 2
100Peter Velits (Slovakia)Row 99 - Cell 2
101Rigoberto Uran Uran (Colombia)Row 100 - Cell 2
102Gerhard Trampusch (Austria)0:14:03
103Paul Martens (Germany)Row 102 - Cell 2
104Volodymyr Zagorodny (Ukraine)Row 103 - Cell 2
105Vladimir Karpets (Russian Federation)Row 104 - Cell 2
106Jan Barta (Czech Republic)Row 105 - Cell 2
107Michael Rogers (Australia)Row 106 - Cell 2
108Juan Carlos Lopez Marin (Colombia)Row 107 - Cell 2
DNFJuan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spain)Row 108 - Cell 2
DNFThomas Danielson (United States Of America)Row 109 - Cell 2
DNFTony Martin (Germany)Row 110 - Cell 2
DNFMarzio Bruseghin (Italy)Row 111 - Cell 2
DNFSerhiy Honchar (Ukraine)Row 112 - Cell 2
DNFJacek Morajko (Poland)Row 113 - Cell 2
DNFJuan Manuel Garate Cepa (Spain)Row 114 - Cell 2
DNFJackson Rodriguez (Venezuela)Row 115 - Cell 2
DNFSebastian Langeveld (Netherlands)Row 116 - Cell 2
DNFPeter Kusztor (Hungary)Row 117 - Cell 2
DNFAliaksandr Kuchynski (Belarus)Row 118 - Cell 2
DNFChristian Knees (Germany)Row 119 - Cell 2
DNFFrancis De Greef (Belgium)Row 120 - Cell 2
DNFManuel Eduardo Medina Marino (Venezuela)Row 121 - Cell 2
DNFGiovanni Visconti (Italy)Row 122 - Cell 2
DNFRubens Bertogliati (Switzerland)Row 123 - Cell 2
DNFMichele Scarponi (Italy)Row 124 - Cell 2
DNFCarlos Barredo Llamazales (Spain)Row 125 - Cell 2
DNFRuben Plaza Molina (Spain)Row 126 - Cell 2
DNFAnders Lund (Denmark)Row 127 - Cell 2
DNFChristopher Froome (Great Britain)Row 128 - Cell 2
DNFTyler Farrar (United States Of America)Row 129 - Cell 2
DNFFrank Hoj (Denmark)Row 130 - Cell 2
DNFMaciej Paterski (Poland)Row 131 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew Bajadali (United States Of America)Row 132 - Cell 2
DNFSvein Tuft (Canada)Row 133 - Cell 2
DNFRoman Kreuziger (Czech Republic)Row 134 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Lloyd (Great Britain)Row 135 - Cell 2
DNFGrega Bole (Slovenia)Row 136 - Cell 2
DNFWesley Sulzberger (Australia)Row 137 - Cell 2
DNFVolodymyr Starchyk (Ukraine)Row 138 - Cell 2
DNFYukiya Arashiro (Japan)Row 139 - Cell 2
DNFBen Swift (Great Britain)Row 140 - Cell 2
DNFAndré Greipel (Germany)Row 141 - Cell 2
DNFMauricio Ardila Cano (Colombia)Row 142 - Cell 2
DNFFabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uruguay)Row 143 - Cell 2
DNFGeraint Thomas (Great Britain)Row 144 - Cell 2
DNFLars Ytting Bak (Denmark)Row 145 - Cell 2
DNFMatija Kvasina (Croatia)Row 146 - Cell 2
DNFThor Hushovd (Norway)Row 147 - Cell 2
DNFLaurent Didier (Luxembourg)Row 148 - Cell 2
DNFGuama Byron (Ecuador)Row 149 - Cell 2
DNFAndrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan)Row 150 - Cell 2
DNFStuart O`Grady (Australia)Row 151 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Millar (Great Britain)Row 152 - Cell 2
DNFMathew Hayman (Australia)Row 153 - Cell 2
DNFSimon Clarke (Australia)Row 154 - Cell 2
DNFJanek Tombak (Estonia)Row 155 - Cell 2
DNFBrent Bookwalter (United States Of America)Row 156 - Cell 2
DNFAndrey Amador Bikkazakova (Costa Rica)Row 157 - Cell 2
DNFRoy Hegreberg (Norway)Row 158 - Cell 2
DNFMartin Mares (Czech Republic)Row 159 - Cell 2
DNFRein Taaramae (Estonia)Row 160 - Cell 2
DNFFreddy Vargas (Venezuela)Row 161 - Cell 2
DNFEvgeny Popov (Russian Federation)Row 162 - Cell 2
DNFMathias Frank (Switzerland)Row 163 - Cell 2
DNFTiago Fiorilli (Brazil)Row 164 - Cell 2
DNFNicolas Roche (Ireland)Row 165 - Cell 2
DNFChristoph Sokoll (Austria)Row 166 - Cell 2
DNFTaiji Nishitani (Japan)Row 167 - Cell 2
DNFDan Craven (Namibia)Row 168 - Cell 2
DNFBorut Bozic (Slovenia)Row 169 - Cell 2
DNFMagno Prado Nazaret (Brazil)Row 170 - Cell 2
DNFGuennadi Mikhailov (Russian Federation)Row 171 - Cell 2
DNFGrégory Rast (Switzerland)Row 172 - Cell 2
DNFTimothy Gudsell (New Zealand)Row 173 - Cell 2
DNFJan Valach (Slovakia)Row 174 - Cell 2
DNFJay Robert Thomson (South Africa)Row 175 - Cell 2
DNFFrederik Wilman (Norway)Row 176 - Cell 2
DNFJeremy Vennell (New Zealand)Row 177 - Cell 2
DNFOlegs Melehs (Latvia)Row 178 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Porsev (Russian Federation)Row 179 - Cell 2
DNFJean-Pierre Drucker (Luxembourg)Row 180 - Cell 2
DNFNebojsa Jovanovic (Serbia)Row 181 - Cell 2
DNFIan Stannard (Great Britain)Row 182 - Cell 2
DNFAndy Schleck (Luxembourg)Row 183 - Cell 2
DNFMartin Garrido Mayorga (Argentina)Row 184 - Cell 2
DNFRyder Hesjedal (Canada)Row 185 - Cell 2
DNFMarcel Sieberg (Germany)Row 186 - Cell 2
DNFGerald Ciolek (Germany)Row 187 - Cell 2
DNFMatias Medici (Argentina)Row 188 - Cell 2
DNFRussell Downing (Great Britain)Row 189 - Cell 2
DNFHaavard Nybö (Norway)Row 190 - Cell 2
DNFIstvan Cziraki (Hungary)Row 191 - Cell 2
DNFLars Petter Nordhaug (Norway)Row 192 - Cell 2
DNFValentin Iglinskiy (Kazakhstan)Row 193 - Cell 2
DNFAlfredo Orlando Lucero (Argentina)Row 194 - Cell 2
DNFAllan Davis (Australia)Row 195 - Cell 2
DNFZolt Der (Serbia)Row 196 - Cell 2
DNFGergely Ivanics (Hungary)Row 197 - Cell 2
DNFEsad Hasanovic (Serbia)Row 198 - Cell 2
DNFCarlos Ivan Oyarzun Guiñez (Chile)Row 199 - Cell 2
DNFRuslan Pydgornyy (Ukraine)Row 200 - Cell 2
DNFPeter Wrolich (Austria)Row 201 - Cell 2

 

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Richard Moore is a freelance journalist and author. His first book, In Search of Robert Millar (HarperSport), won Best Biography at the 2008 British Sports Book Awards. His second book, Heroes, Villains & Velodromes (HarperSport), was long-listed for the 2008 William Hill Sports Book of the Year.

He writes on sport, specialising in cycling, and is a regular contributor to Cyclingnews, the Guardian, skyports.com, the Scotsman and Procycling magazine.

He is also a former racing cyclist who represented Scotland at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and Great Britain at the 1998 Tour de Langkawi

His next book, Slaying the Badger: LeMond, Hinault and the Greatest Ever Tour de France, will be published by Yellow Jersey in May 2011.

Another book, Sky’s the Limit: British Cycling’s Quest to Conquer the Tour de France, will also be published by HarperSport in June 2011.

 


 

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