World Championships: Jakob Egholm wins junior men's road race
Danish rider takes solo victory
Jakob Egholm of Denmark won the junior men's rainbow jersey at the UCI Road World Championships in Qatar after a combined late attack with teammate Julius Johansen.
Johansen got away first and then Egholm joined him before surging away alone. Egholm struggled in the final kilometres but managed to stay clear and win alone by seven seconds on the field.
Johansen and late chaser Alexys Brunel (France) were swept up in the final kilometres, with Niklas Markl (Germany) and Reto Muller (Switzerland) leading home the front group to take the silver and bronze medals. Italy's Luca Mozzato finished fourth.
Time trial world champion Brandon McNulty (USA) was in the attack that decided the race, but spent perhaps too much energy chasing and finished 16th. Australia's Harry Sweeney was tenth after an 18-rider attack shaped the race and stayed clear of the peloton containing many of the expected favourites.
Egholm struggled to believe he had won the world title before celebrating with his Danish teammates.
"I can't believe it. It's too crazy. I wasn't expecting this," he said.
"I haven't won a race since the Morbihan Nations Cup in May. I went into the race with the expectation of working for my teammate who's a sprinter. We were convinced it would be a bunch sprint. But when we went in the breakaway I started to sit in the back of the group and take it as easy as I could. With 10km to go I took a turn and then my teammate Julius (Johansen) went for it. Nobody was on my wheel, so I thought maybe I could go after him and we could make it to the finish line. Sadly he didn't have the power left in the legs to follow me all the way, so I figured why not, just go for it. If I couldn't do it, I couldn't do it. I had nothing to lose."
"I didn't think I had the power to do it in my legs, but apparently I have. Maybe it was luck, but I'm world champion now and I can thank my team. I just can't believe it."
"It's so unbelievable, it's so crazy I wouldn't have dreamed it. It's something the best in the world do, but I didn't think I was one of the best. I just signed a contract with the Danish Giant team. I'm really looking forward to the U23 next year. It gives me some opportunities I wouldn't have had before. But first I want to enjoy this win. It will stay with me for the rest of my life."
Crash sparks key attack
185 riders started the 133km race and there were a series of crashes as riders tried to grab bidons twice on each lap and at several pinch points on the twisting Pearl circuit.
The decisive attack was launched by Brunel after 80km and a crash soon after created the confusion that allowed the attack of the race to form.
11 riders were in the initial breakaway, and they were joined by others as nations gathered and realised they needed to have riders in the move. Italy was one of several major nations to have only a single rider in the breakaway, and they to tried to lead the chase. However with three Danish and three Slovenian riders in the 18-rider front group, plus the USA's McNulty, the gap remained close to a minute as the kilometres and 15km laps of the circuit ticked down.
Several riders suffered in the heat, with Ivar Knotten of Norway falling to the ground and shaking, seemingly due to the extreme conditions and his effort to stay in the attack of the race. It was reported later that he had recovered from dehydration and exhaustion.
The French and Dutch squads tried to lead the chase but failed to close to the gap on the attackers. Italy's Moreno Marchetti tried to inspire a counter-attack but the move was controlled by the peloton. The front group led by a minute with one final lap left to race as McNulty generously helped control some attacks. They would fight for the rainbow jersey.
After several moves were pulled back, Johansen accelerated away with nine kliometres to go, tucked into an aero position as he used all his energy to distance his rivals. Egholm saw his chance and surged across to his teammate. He then continued on alone when he realised Johansen was tired.
Brunel made a brave chase but was eventually caught by the rest of the attack. Egholm seemed to struggle too after a huge effort to hold a 20 second lead but found some inspiration and energy in the final two kilometre and was able to stay away and savour a solo world championship victory.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Jakob Egholm (Denmark) | 2:58:19 |
2 | Niklas Markl (Germany) | 0:00:07 |
3 | Reto Muller (Switzerland) | |
4 | Luca Mozzato (Italy) | |
5 | Ziga Horvat (Slovenia) | |
6 | Ziga Jerman (Slovenia) | |
7 | Ide Schelling (Netherlands) | |
8 | Jaka Primozic (Slovenia) | |
9 | Sedrik Ullebo (Norway) | |
10 | Harry Sweeny (Australia) | |
11 | Adrian Bustamante (Colombia) | |
12 | Jacob Eriksson (Sweden) | |
13 | Brent Van Moer (Belgium) | |
14 | Alexys Brunel (France) | |
15 | Andreas Kron (Denmark) | |
16 | Brandon Mcnulty (United States Of America) | |
17 | Nicolas Debeaumarche (France) | |
18 | Julius Johansen (Denmark) | 0:00:14 |
19 | Marc Hirschi (Switzerland) | |
20 | Ilya Gorbushin (Kazakhstan) | 0:01:39 |
21 | Michele Gazzoli (Italy) | 0:01:45 |
22 | Nils Eekhoff (Netherlands) | |
23 | Tomas Contte (Argentina) | |
24 | Tanguy Turgis (France) | |
25 | Nicolas Malle (France) | |
26 | Stefan Bissegger (Switzerland) | |
27 | Batuhan Ozgur (Turkey) | |
28 | Adam Karl (Hungary) | |
29 | Linus Kvist (Sweden) | |
30 | Thierry Kirouac-Marcassa (Canada) | |
31 | Bartosz Rudyk (Poland) | |
32 | Maximilian Hamberger (Germany) | |
33 | Denis Marian Vulcan (Romania) | |
34 | Felix Gross (Germany) | |
35 | Pol Hernandez Vallejo (Spain) | |
36 | Hakon Aalrust (Norway) | |
37 | Jason Huertas (Costa Rica) | |
38 | Adrian Foltan (Slovakia) | |
39 | Colin Heiderscheid (Luxembourg) | |
40 | Hamza Mansouri (Algeria) | |
41 | Alex Jaime Fernandez (Spain) | |
42 | Eugene Kakizaki (Japan) | |
43 | James Fouche (New Zealand) | |
44 | Richard Holec (Czech Republic) | |
45 | Robert Stannard (New Zealand) | |
46 | Joab Schneiter (Switzerland) | |
47 | Luc Wirtgen (Luxembourg) | |
48 | Lars Van Den Berg (Netherlands) | |
49 | Matus Stocek (Slovakia) | |
50 | Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) | |
51 | Gage Hecht (United States Of America) | |
52 | Abdelraouf Bengayou (Algeria) | |
53 | Klidi Jaku (Albania) | |
54 | Kristers Ansons (Latvia) | |
55 | Joao Almeida (Portugal) | |
56 | Daniel Viegas (Portugal) | |
57 | Alexandros Agrotis (Cyprus) | |
58 | Vadim Pronskiy (Kazakhstan) | |
59 | Cameron Beard (United States Of America) | |
60 | Ayumu Watanabe (Japan) | |
61 | Jonas Rutsch (Germany) | |
62 | Jo Shigemitsu (Japan) | |
63 | Dan-Mihai Babaita (Romania) | |
64 | Lars Andersson (Sweden) | |
65 | Moreno Marchetti (Italy) | |
66 | Devin Shortt (South Africa) | |
67 | Oguzhan Tiryaki (Turkey) | |
68 | Florian Kierner (Austria) | |
69 | Joakim Kjemhus (Norway) | |
70 | Florentin Lecamus (France) | |
71 | Ruben Apers (Belgium) | |
72 | Clement Betouigt-Suire (France) | |
73 | Abderahim Amari (Algeria) | |
74 | Thai Phan Hoang (Vietnam) | |
75 | Luis Villalobos (Mexico) | |
76 | Anton Popov (Russian Federation) | |
77 | Samuel Oros (Slovakia) | |
78 | Vladislav Stepanov (Russian Federation) | |
79 | Raphael Kockelmann (Luxembourg) | |
80 | Fernando Islas (Mexico) | |
81 | Davide Baldaccini (Italy) | |
82 | Filippo Zana (Italy) | |
83 | Erik Bergstrom (Sweden) | 0:02:02 |
84 | Jakub Otruba (Czech Republic) | |
85 | Warut Paekrathok (Thailand) | |
86 | Aynur Galeev (Russian Federation) | |
87 | Martin Lavric (Slovenia) | |
88 | Barnabas Peak (Hungary) | |
89 | Pedro Teixeira (Portugal) | 0:02:06 |
90 | Bastian Flicke (Germany) | |
91 | Vladyslav Shcherban (Ukraine) | 0:02:09 |
92 | Michel Ries (Luxembourg) | |
93 | Frederik Madsen (Denmark) | 0:02:16 |
94 | Timofei Sherstnev (Russian Federation) | |
95 | Sasha Weemaes (Belgium) | 0:02:31 |
96 | Andreas Leknessund (Norway) | 0:02:35 |
97 | Viktor Potocki (Croatia) | 0:02:42 |
98 | Awet Habtom (Eritrea) | |
99 | Jarno Mobach (Netherlands) | 0:02:49 |
100 | Nikita Sokolov (Kazakhstan) | 0:03:14 |
101 | Clement Davy (France) | 0:03:22 |
102 | Saymon Musie (Eritrea) | 0:03:37 |
103 | Daniil Marukhin (Kazakhstan) | 0:03:46 |
104 | Nadjib Assal (Algeria) | 0:04:08 |
105 | Tomas Person (Slovakia) | |
106 | Daan Hoole (Netherlands) | 0:04:22 |
107 | Jake Gray (Ireland) | 0:05:44 |
108 | Gerben Thijssen (Belgium) | 0:06:07 |
109 | Dennis Van Der Horst (Netherlands) | 0:07:01 |
110 | Thanakhan Chaiyasombat (Thailand) | 0:07:45 |
111 | Ian Garrison (United States Of America) | |
112 | Jason Oosthuizen (South Africa) | 0:09:20 |
DNF | Mathias Larsen (Denmark) | |
DNF | Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark) | |
DNF | Szymon Krawczyk (Poland) | |
DNF | Felix Gall (Austria) | |
DNF | Inigo Elosegui Momene (Spain) | |
DNF | Lothar Verhulst (Belgium) | |
DNF | Nickolas Zukowsky (Canada) | |
DNF | Nahuel Omar D Aquila Silva (Argentina) | |
DNF | Ludvik Holstad (Norway) | |
DNF | Valere Thiebaud (Switzerland) | |
DNF | Nicolas Lujan Molina (Argentina) | |
DNF | Jair Kelly (Aruba) | |
DNF | Henok Mulubrhan (Eritrea) | |
DNF | Saad Alsaadi (Bahrain) | |
DNF | Campbell Stewart (New Zealand) | |
DNF | Misch Leyder (Luxembourg) | |
DNF | Ratchanon Yaowarat (Thailand) | |
DNF | Karim Shiraliyev (Azerbaijan) | |
DNF | Rene Ukiniwabo (Rwanda) | |
DNF | Nik Cemazar (Slovenia) | |
DNF | Tyler Stites (United States Of America) | |
DNF | Ognjen Ilic (Serbia) | |
DNF | Vojtech Sedlacek (Czech Republic) | |
DNF | Iver Knotten (Norway) | |
DNF | Stanislav Koniaev (Russian Federation) | |
DNF | Veljko Stojnic (Serbia) | |
DNF | Charles-Etienne Chretien (Canada) | |
DNF | Ronan Tuomey (Ireland) | |
DNF | Tegshbayar Batsaikhan (Mongolia) | |
DNF | Xeno Young (Ireland) | |
DNF | Maccie Carter (Australia) | |
DNF | Filip Kvasina (Croatia) | |
DNF | Joseph Villalobos (Costa Rica) | |
DNF | Keitaro Sawada (Japan) | |
DNF | Benneng Yu (People's Republic Of China) | |
DNF | Marco Friedrich (Austria) | |
DNF | Yurii Burchenia (Ukraine) | |
DNF | Dinmukhammed Ulysbayev (Kazakhstan) | |
DNF | Nicolas Vergara (Chile) | |
DNF | Tomas Capek (Czech Republic) | |
DNF | Damean Oosthuizen (South Africa) | |
DNF | Mikolaj Konieczny (Poland) | |
DNF | Robin Froidevaux (Switzerland) | |
DNF | Daniil Nikulin (Ukraine) | |
DNF | Ahmet Orencik (Turkey) | |
DNF | Fran Majoli (Croatia) | |
DNF | Markus Wildauer (Austria) | |
DNF | Alastair Christie-Johnston (Australia) | |
DNF | Tyler Cole (Trinidad And Tobago) | |
DNF | Reyner Alpizar (Costa Rica) | |
DNF | Mikayil Safarli (Azerbaijan) | |
DNF | Sheng Sha (People's Republic Of China) | |
DNF | Long San Lao (Macao, China) | |
DNF | Saar Hershler (Israel) | |
DNF | John Jimenez (Costa Rica) | |
DNF | Yousef Alyousef (Saudi Arabia) | |
DNF | Goran Dermanovic (Bosnia And Herzegovina) | |
DNF | Igor Chzhan (Kazakhstan) | |
DNF | Tamaz Tsereteli (Georgia) | |
DNF | Xin Cai (People's Republic Of China) | |
DNF | Chi Son Ieong (Macao, China) | |
DNF | Farhan Al Farizi (Qatar) | |
DNF | Youssof Mrad (Lebanon) | |
DNF | Gassem Hassan (Qatar) | |
DNF | Noofal Al Habsi (Oman) | |
DNF | Ahmed Al Bishri (Saudi Arabia) | |
DNF | Mohammed Al Hasani (Oman) | |
DNF | Ebrahim Hajizadehasl (Islamic Republic Of Iran) | |
DNF | Sabri Tafa (Albania) | |
DNF | Pouria Hosseini (Islamic Republic Of Iran) | |
DNF | Abdullah Alrashdi (Saudi Arabia) | |
DNS | Jasper Philipsen (Belgium) | |
DNS | Matthew Staples (Canada) |
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Peter Sagan confirms Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Tokyo Olympics for 2020
Buchmann targets Tour, while Ackermann will ride Giro and Vuelta -
Israel Cycling Academy confirm McCabe signing
30-year-old American added to boost WorldTour team's sprint options -
Wout van Aert: I felt like I was burned alive
Jumbo-Visma rider watches replay of horrific Tour de France crash in Het Huis documentary -
Sam Bennett signs with Deceuninck-QuickStep
Archbold joins Irishman in moving from Bora-Hansgrohe
Cyclingnews Newsletter
Sign up to the Cyclingnews Newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how to do this, and how we hold your data, please see our privacy policy