Bokeloh wins with a late sprint

After a breathless morning of racing, Jonas Bokeloh (Germany) emerged victorious in the junior men’s road race at the world championships in Ponferrada, unleashing a fine finish to claim the group sprint ahead of Alexandr Kulikovskiy (Russia) and Peter Lenderink (Netherlands).

There were plot twists aplenty as the race ebbed and flowed through the final three laps. The only constant was the complete lack of respite in the peloton, which seemed stretched in single file for much of the final hour. Indeed, Bokeloh’s reading of the race had prompted him to anticipate a very different outcome. Over the top of Confederacion, the penultimate climb, he managed to bridge across to breakaways Pavel Sivakov (Russia) and Tamirlan Tassymov (Kazakhstan). When they were swept up at the base of the final climb to Mirador, he feared his chance had passed him by.

“I thought it would be a sprint from a breakaway, that’s why I followed them,” Bokeloh said. “I was a little bit sad when the break was caught by the peloton. On the last climb it was quite hard to follow. I really didn’t think I’d be able to sprint like I did after that. I was more focused on maybe a top ten place, I didn’t expect to be world champion. It’s amazing.”

Over 40 riders came together again at the foot of the Mirador, where the Swedish pair of Lucas Eriksson and Hampus Anderberg’s forcing whittled down the leading group still further, but nobody could quite snap the elastic and go clear.

On the way down, however, Switzerland’s Gino Maeder took over the reins, and his daring descent looked as though it would be enough to carry him to the rainbow jersey. As the road flattened out at the red kite, he had a small but sustainable advantage over the disorganised chasing group. Maeder was joined in the final kilometre by Stepan Kurianov (Russia), but they were swept up within sight of the line.

In the closing 200 metres, Bokeloh produced a sprint worthy of fellow German sprinters Degenkolb, Greipel et al to beat Kulikovskiy, while Lenderink held off Edoardo Affini (Italy) for the bronze medal.

“It’s a bit of a surprise because I thought a break would stay away on the final lap,” Lenderink said. “I was a bit on the back on the last climb, but I used the descent to get back on.”

The early entertainment was provided by Adrien Costa (USA), who launched a determined solo effort that saw him gain 45 seconds, but he was eventually reeled in as the peloton approached the beginning of the penultimate lap.

Over 100 riders were still in contention at that point, but a dangerous move sparked by Ricardo Verza (Italy) and Leo Danes (France) blew the race apart. The break swelled to six riders by the bell, where Wilmar Paredes (Colombia) set a fierce tempo all the way up the Confederacion, but there was a fresh regrouping shortly after the summit.

Nicola Conci (Italy) was the next to try his luck, in the company of Sivakov, but his Worlds dream ended when his wheels slid from beneath him while forcing the pace on the same fast corner that saw his Italian Under 23 teammate crash on Friday. The final climb and descent of Mirador were frenetic affairs, but when the dust settled in Ponferrada, a group of 32 riders formed to contest the medals.

“Right from the start I felt good, but I didn’t expect to become world champion,” said Bokeloh after he received the rainbow jersey. “I think it will make a lot of things much easier for me. I’m still looking for a team for next year and now I think I can get a better team.”

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jonas Bokeloh (Germany)3:07:00
2Alexandr Kulikovskiy (Russian Federation)Row 1 - Cell 2
3Peter Lenderink (Netherlands)Row 2 - Cell 2
4Edoardo Affini (Italy)Row 3 - Cell 2
5Magnus Klaris (Denmark)Row 4 - Cell 2
6Izidor Penko (Slovenia)Row 5 - Cell 2
7Lucas Eriksson (Sweden)Row 6 - Cell 2
8Lorenzo Fortunato (Italy)Row 7 - Cell 2
9Léo Danes (France)Row 8 - Cell 2
10Sjoerd Bax (Netherlands)Row 9 - Cell 2
11Jordi Warlop (Belgium)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Wilmar Paredes (Colombia)Row 11 - Cell 2
13Emiel Planckaert (Belgium)Row 12 - Cell 2
14Gino Mäder (Switzerland)Row 13 - Cell 2
15Moritz Fußnegger (Germany)Row 14 - Cell 2
16James Shaw (Great Britain)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Masahiro Ishigami (Japan)Row 16 - Cell 2
18Mitchell Cornelisse (Netherlands)Row 17 - Cell 2
19Christian Koch (Germany)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Martin Schäppi (Switzerland)Row 19 - Cell 2
21Aurélien Paret-Peintre (France)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Pascal Eenkhoorn (Netherlands)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Jonas Gregaard (Denmark)Row 22 - Cell 2
24Jai Hindley (Australia)Row 23 - Cell 2
25Senne Leysen (Belgium)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Benjamin Brkic (Austria)Row 25 - Cell 2
27Michael Storer (Australia)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Mark Padun (Ukraine)Row 27 - Cell 2
29Ward Jaspers (Belgium)Row 28 - Cell 2
30Stepan Kurianov (Russian Federation)Row 29 - Cell 2
31Andrej Petrovski (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)Row 30 - Cell 2
32Vincenzo Albanese (Italy)Row 31 - Cell 2
33Hampus Anderberg (Sweden)0:00:08
34James Thompson (Australia)0:00:12
35Tamirlan Tassymov (Kazakhstan)0:00:16
36Zeno Caminada (Switzerland)0:00:20
37Kevin Geniets (Luxembourg)0:00:37
38Øyvind Skog (Norway)0:00:38
39Pavel Sivakov (Russian Federation)Row 38 - Cell 2
40Jaime Restrepo (Colombia)0:01:10
41Filippo Ganna (Italy)Row 40 - Cell 2
42Maxim Satlikov (Kazakhstan)0:01:33
43Rayane Bouhanni (France)0:01:44
44Michael O'loughlin (Ireland)Row 43 - Cell 2
45Alexander Fåglum Karlsson (Sweden)Row 44 - Cell 2
46Aleksander Vlasov (Russian Federation)Row 45 - Cell 2
47Patrick Haller (Germany)Row 46 - Cell 2
48Yuriy Chsherbinin (Kazakhstan)Row 47 - Cell 2
49Mario Spengler (Switzerland)Row 48 - Cell 2
50Philip O'donnell (United States Of America)Row 49 - Cell 2
51Jan Maas (Netherlands)Row 50 - Cell 2
52Zeke Mostov (United States Of America)Row 51 - Cell 2
53Sasu Halme (Finland)Row 52 - Cell 2
54Miguel Angel Ballesteros (Spain)Row 53 - Cell 2
55Pierre Idjouadienne (France)Row 54 - Cell 2
56Riccardo Verza (Italy)0:01:48
57Gotzon Martín (Spain)0:03:36
58Juraj Bellan (Slovakia)Row 57 - Cell 2
59Rocco Fuggiano (Italy)0:03:38
60Eddie Dunbar (Ireland)0:03:51
61Nicola Conci (Italy)0:03:57
62Žan Jerkic (Slovenia)0:04:23
63Ivan Venter (South Africa)Row 62 - Cell 2
64Erlend Blikra (Norway)0:04:44
65Rodrigo Dos Santos Quirino (Brazil)0:04:46
66Hartthijs De Vries (Netherlands)0:04:55
67Matthew Gibson (Great Britain)0:05:04
68Jose Gerardo Ulloa (Mexico)0:05:41
69Diego Pablo Sevilla (Spain)0:05:44
70Jesper Schultz (Denmark)0:06:19
71Pavlo Bondarenko (Ukraine)0:06:33
72Anders Hardahl (Denmark)0:06:36
73Gustaf Andersson (Sweden)0:07:05
74Gustav Basson (South Africa)Row 73 - Cell 2
75Marcel Neuhauser (Austria)Row 74 - Cell 2
76Javier Montoya (Colombia)Row 75 - Cell 2
77Niklas Larsen (Denmark)Row 76 - Cell 2
78Tom Wirtgen (Luxembourg)Row 77 - Cell 2
79Keigo Kusaba (Japan)0:08:22
80David Gaudu (France)0:08:27
81Casper Pedersen (Denmark)0:08:40
82Jean-Simon D'anjou (Canada)0:09:44
83Patrick Gamper (Austria)0:09:48
84Grigoriy Shtein (Kazakhstan)Row 83 - Cell 2
85Peeter Pung (Estonia)Row 84 - Cell 2
86Abderrahim Zahiri (Morocco)Row 85 - Cell 2
87Petr Rikunov (Russian Federation)Row 86 - Cell 2
88Gorazd Per (Slovenia)Row 87 - Cell 2
89Matic Veber (Slovenia)Row 88 - Cell 2
90Martin Palm (Belgium)Row 89 - Cell 2
91Adrien Costa (United States Of America)0:09:56
92Stephen Shanahan (Ireland)Row 91 - Cell 2
93William Barta (United States Of America)0:10:14
94Syver Waersted (Norway)0:11:35
95Tobias Foss (Norway)Row 94 - Cell 2
96Derek Gee (Canada)0:12:09
97Patryk Solinski (Poland)Row 96 - Cell 2
98El Mehdi Chokri (Morocco)0:12:54
99Graeme Ockhuis (South Africa)0:15:01
100Xavier Cañellas (Spain)0:15:22
101Konstyantyn Ashurov (Ukraine)Row 100 - Cell 2
102Torjus Sleen (Norway)Row 101 - Cell 2
103Alisher Zhumakan (Kazakhstan)Row 102 - Cell 2
104Juan Francisco Villalobos (Mexico)0:15:24
105Sven Reutter (Germany)Row 104 - Cell 2
106Arturs Belevics (Latvia)0:16:56
107Emil Dima (Romania)0:18:10
108Jack Maddux (United States Of America)0:18:23
109Onur Balkan (Turkey)0:19:33
110Stephen Williams (Great Britain)0:23:45
DNFJonathan Brown (United States Of America)Row 110 - Cell 2
DNFBen Ganon (Israel)Row 111 - Cell 2
DNFPier-André Côté (Canada)Row 112 - Cell 2
DNFAleksandrs Rublevskis (Latvia)Row 113 - Cell 2
DNFValters Cakšs (Latvia)Row 114 - Cell 2
DNFIslam Mansouri (Algeria)Row 115 - Cell 2
DNFZoheir Benyoub (Algeria)Row 116 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Martínez (Colombia)Row 117 - Cell 2
DNFJaume Suredia (Spain)Row 118 - Cell 2
DNFLennard Kämna (Germany)Row 119 - Cell 2
DNFKeisuke Nakamura (Japan)Row 120 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Zverko (Slovakia)Row 121 - Cell 2
DNFOrluis Aular (Venezuela)Row 122 - Cell 2
DNFDilmurdjon Siddikov (Uzbekistan)Row 123 - Cell 2
DNFNathan Draper (Great Britain)Row 124 - Cell 2
DNFRui Filipe Alves (Portugal)Row 125 - Cell 2
DNFRidion Kopshti (Albania)Row 126 - Cell 2
DNFFacundo Crisafulli (Argentina)Row 127 - Cell 2
DNFGabriel Cullaigh (Great Britain)Row 128 - Cell 2
DNFDzmitry Zhyhunou (Belarus)Row 129 - Cell 2
DNFRoman Lehky (Czech Republic)Row 130 - Cell 2
DNFLadislav Kniha (Slovakia)Row 131 - Cell 2
DNFHuynh Thanh Tung (Vietnam)Row 132 - Cell 2
DNFAdrián Jaramillo (Ecuador)Row 133 - Cell 2
DNFDawid Adamczyk (Poland)Row 134 - Cell 2
DNFLucian Buga (Romania)Row 135 - Cell 2
DNFMarco-Tapio Niemi (Finland)Row 136 - Cell 2
DNFDamien Touzé (France)Row 137 - Cell 2
DNFAndré Carvalho (Portugal)Row 138 - Cell 2
DNFDusan Rajovic (Serbia)Row 139 - Cell 2
DNFDylan O'brien (Ireland)Row 140 - Cell 2
DNFIsmael Cárdenas (Venezuela)Row 141 - Cell 2
DNFDamian Slawek (Poland)Row 142 - Cell 2
DNFSalvador Martínez (El Salvador)Row 143 - Cell 2
DNFKristian Zimany (Slovakia)Row 144 - Cell 2
DNFAmine Ahmed Galdoune (Morocco)Row 145 - Cell 2
DNFNico Selenati (Switzerland)Row 146 - Cell 2
DNFYam Poliak (Israel)Row 147 - Cell 2
DNFEdward Walsh (Canada)Row 148 - Cell 2
DNFBrian Carro (Uruguay)Row 149 - Cell 2
DNFElgun Alizada (Azerbaijan)Row 150 - Cell 2
DNFLuka Cotar (Slovenia)Row 151 - Cell 2
DNFAlexei Piashkun (Belarus)Row 152 - Cell 2
DNFItmar Einhorn (Israel)Row 153 - Cell 2
DNFDániel Móricz (Hungary)Row 154 - Cell 2
DNFTiago Antunes (Portugal)Row 155 - Cell 2
DNFBruno Kristic (Croatia)Row 156 - Cell 2
DNFDaiki Magosaki (Japan)Row 157 - Cell 2
DNFMohamed Imam (Egypt)Row 158 - Cell 2
DNFAkramjon Sunnatov (Uzbekistan)Row 159 - Cell 2
DNFAndre Eduardo Gohr (Brazil)Row 160 - Cell 2
DNFEkke-Kaur Vosman (Estonia)Row 161 - Cell 2
DNFNorman Vahtra (Estonia)Row 162 - Cell 2
DNFKanan Gahramanli (Azerbaijan)Row 163 - Cell 2
DNFJose Yustiz (Venezuela)Row 164 - Cell 2
DNFIsmail Bouricha (Algeria)Row 165 - Cell 2
DNFJon Bozic (Slovenia)Row 166 - Cell 2
DNFGergö Gönczi (Hungary)Row 167 - Cell 2
DNFMarius Skjolden (Norway)Row 168 - Cell 2
DNFNikolay Ilichev (Russian Federation)Row 169 - Cell 2
DNFIlyass Rabihi (Morocco)Row 170 - Cell 2
DNFDaire Feeley (Ireland)Row 171 - Cell 2
DNFNiklas Henttala (Finland)Row 172 - Cell 2
DNFAlihan Demirbag (Turkey)Row 173 - Cell 2
DNFFrancisco Lara (Mexico)Row 174 - Cell 2
DNFYoussef Helal (Egypt)Row 175 - Cell 2
DNFEnzo Lujan (Argentina)Row 176 - Cell 2
DNFLarry Valvasori (Luxembourg)Row 177 - Cell 2
DNFGordian Banzer (Liechtenstein)Row 178 - Cell 2
DNFAlexis Alarcon (Chile)Row 179 - Cell 2
DNFMustafa Erikçi (Turkey)Row 180 - Cell 2
DNFDmitriy Ponkratov (Uzbekistan)Row 181 - Cell 2
DNFAnton Ivashkin (Belarus)Row 182 - Cell 2
DNFLucas Hamilton (Australia)Row 183 - Cell 2
DNFRealdo Ramaliu (Albania)Row 184 - Cell 2
DNFSteff Crass (Belgium)Row 185 - Cell 2
DNFDušan Kalaba (Serbia)Row 186 - Cell 2

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Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.

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