Ben Swift won Great Britain's second gold of the opening night of competition, his first ever world title in a gutsy victory in the men's scratch race. Swift held off a late surge by South Africa's Nolan Hoffman to win the men's 15-kilometer scratch race. Wim Stroetinga of the Netherlands finished third.
Swift chased down Austria Andreas Mueller and Italy's Elia Viviano who had surged ahead of the field with seven laps remaining.
With one lap to go, and with his escape companions tiring, Swift surged ahead with a margin just enough to hold off the remnants of the field.
"I knew somebody was going to attack in the finish, and just tried to play it cool and make other people chase. It's definitely the hardest I've ever had to work for a track cycling race," Swift said.
Hoffman explained that his result was somewhat of a breakthrough.
"I've been to all the world cups and I've struggled a bit and I always thought the world champs is going to be hard," Hoffman said.
| 1 | Ben Swift (Great Britain) |
| 2 | Nolan Hoffman (South Africa) |
| 3 | Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands) |
| 4 | Alex Frame (New Zealand) |
| 5 | Martin Blaha (Czech Republic) |
| 6 | Lucas Liß (Germany) |
| 7 | Sunjae Jang (Korea) |
| 8 | Angel Dario Colla (Argentina) |
| 9 | Pablo Aitor Bernal Rosique (Spain) |
| 10 | Vivien Brisse (France) |
| 11 | Edison Bravo (Chile) |
| 12 | Franco Marvulli (Switzerland) |
| 13 | Pavel Gatskiy (Kazakhstan) |
| 14 | Andreas Mueller (Austria) |
| 15 | Ivan Savitsky (Russian Federation) |
| 16 | Alexander Edmondson (Australia) |
| 17 | Hariff Salleh (Malaysia) |
| 18 | Aliaksandr Lisouski (Belarus) |
| 19 | Moreno De Pauw (Belgium) |
| 20 | Bobby Lea (United States of America) |
| 21 | Elia Viviani (Italy) |
-
Lizzie Deignan out of Strade Bianche with a cold
Cyclo-cross world champion Lucinda Brand a last-minute addition to Trek-Segafredo roster for Women's WorldTour opener -
Stacked field for Strade Bianche-inspired gravel race in California
Clara Honsinger, Jacob Rathe and Peter Stetina set for Shasta Gravel Hugger -
Mathieu van der Poel switches bikes for Strade Bianche after Le Samyn cockpit malfunction
'The strongest riders will remain at the front, I expect an open battle' says Alpecin-Fenix leader -
Annemiek van Vleuten: Live TV before equal prize money
Strade Bianche defending champion chimes in on the prize money debate ahead of Women's WorldTour opener
