Bonne Friday to you all. You join us as the Under 23 men's road race is about to get underway in Bergen.
The riders are off and there's a lot of rain gear and arm warmers on show. While it is expected to be dry for the women's road race tomorrow, the junior women and now the under 23 men have had some of the wet stuff to contend with. If the rain continues to fall throughout the race then it could have an impact on the result.
The junior women wrapped up their race a little over an hour ago and, keeping to what we've seen throughout the week in Bergen, it was a very exciting race. I won't spoil the result for you, but you can find it and the report here.
Norway won the under 23 title in Qatar last year with Kristoffer Holvorsen. How much they would love to win again on home soil. Halvorsen leads the Norwegian team in Bergen. You can see the full start list here.
A group of six riders has jumped clear of the bunch and have a slim lead of around 30 seconds.
It has been a very fast start to the race and the riders are almost at the end of the first of their 10 laps. The riders out front are: Jai Hindley (Australia), Atsushi Oka (Japan), Jose Fernandes (Portugal), Vasili Strokau (Belarus), Gustav Hoog (Sweden) and Awet Habtom Tekle (Eritrea).
171km remaining from 191km
The advantage of the six leaders is growing out ever so slightly. With still 171km to go they have 46 seconds on the peloton behind. Some riders have already been dropped.
Hindley has been dropped by the leading group, meanwhile one of the Japanese riders, Yamamoto, is trying to jump the gap.
Yamamoto is just under a minute behind the leading five while the peloton is 1:50 back on the leaders.
A problem for one of the Belgian riders. And there's a crash. A rider from Ireland is in a bush!
He's back up on his feet but a few riders were caught out in that fall. Luckily the shrubbery broke his fall. Is there anywhere in this town where we can find a shrubbery? Graham Chapman once asked... There are plenty here in Norway.
Back in the bunch and it's a relatively calm pace. The weren't travelling to fast during that last crash but a couple more riders are pinging off the front now as we head towards the final 160km of the race. There's still an awful long way to go as we see the break push their lead out to 1'13 over the peloton.
The latest podcast from the CN team is now up. In it we go back to the UCI Congress and find out just why Brian Cookson lost the presidential election. We hear from the man himself and David Lappartient. And we also look back at the TT with interviews with Chris Froome and Tom Dumoulin.
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The lead group have pushed their advantage out to 2'34 with 1'49km to go. No real urgency from the bunch.
Belgium, Italy, Latvia... they all have riders on the front of the peloton but no real urgency at this stage. This a race of attrition and a lot of riders will be saving their efforts for later in the day. Meanwhile the rain has slightly eased but it's going to on/off all-day.
143km remaining from 191km
And here come Norway, who have a few cards to play. They move to the front and set the pace for the bunch with the gap to the leaders at 2'35.
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Meanwhile, the chase group are still sitting 38 seconds off the leaders.
The chase group are making inroads into the main break's advantage. They have them at 27 seconds, while the Norwegian controlled peloton are still at 2'35.
The two front groups have merged with 130km to go but there's no let up in pace as the bunch continue to hunt them down. Norway have the break at 2'27.
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Denmark and Italy are showing more interest in proceedings and have posted men just behind the Norwegian train. The bunch appear to be working a lot harder than the break but the gap is holding at 2'25. We've 127km to go.
Denmark and Italy are showing more interest in proceedings and have posted men just behind the Norwegian train. The bunch appear to be working a lot harder than the break but the gap is holding at 2'25. We've 127km to go.
Through the pits section and the leaders have lost another ten seconds off their advantage since the last lap. 119km to go .
The front group is all over the road at the moment. Selemun and Mugisha had a small advantage as they crossed the line, but they have been brought back by the chasers. All of these fractures are good for the peloton who are now just over two minutes back on the leaders
Tomorrow will be the junior men's road race followed by the elite women's competition. Coryn Rivera has already got a gold medal from this year's competition and is among the favourites and I spoke with her earlier this week about her chances tomorrow and her dream first season in Europe. Read the full story here.
More little digs coming off the front of this escape group. Once again it is the Eritreans in the mix. Mehari is the first to strike out and his teammate Selemun follows. They have Mugisha for company and a small gap on the rest of the escapees.
That brief escape has been brought back once again but Novakovskyi has been dropped and is struggling up the climb.
103km remaining from 191km
Norway remains cool and calm on the front of the bunch with Denmark right behind them. They're keeping a very close eye on this breakaway and with a little over 100km still to run to the finish line the gap is a slender 2:18.
Norway up the pace in the bunch as we dip under the 100km to go and the peloton is stinging out. For the first time in a while, the gap ticks down to under two minutes.
97km remaining from 191km
It is still grey and grizzly out there. A mechanical problem for Yamamoto as he drops his chain. He has to get off to remount it but he's back on his bike and back with his breakaway companions. Novakovskyi is also back in the group after chasing on the descent.
The timing screens show that USA rider Neilson Powless has been distanced from the back of the bunch. It has been a bit of a disappointing championships for the American. He was one of the big favourites for the time trial but he dropped his chain during his ride and then crashed into the barriers as he was trying to get it back on.
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The rain has reportedly stopped in Bergen but the roads are still slick with water. Norway is eating chunks out of the lead right now with just 1:37 remaining of it. The breakaway has reacted and they are really pushing to try and keep the peloton at bay.
90km remaining from 191km
Italy has come up to the front for the first time but it doesn't last long. It seems as thought the rider just wanted to take the path of least resistance to the other side of the peloton.
The breakaway is really going hard as they head towards the climb once again. Riders having to work hard to keep in tough.
The pace is taking its victims and Selemun has been dropped. The Eritrean has attacked quite a few times earlier in this race.
The official start list for Sunday's elite men road race has finally been published. You can take a look at that here. You can also see our riders to watch video here.
82km remaining from 191km
Strokau has now been dropped from the leading group as a few digs come off the front of the peloton.
With the gradual upping in pace, a group of around 10 riders has come off the front of the bunch. Spain is chasing in the peloton behind.
It is still stretched out in the peloton but it has come back together. Meanwhile, up front, there are attacks from the leading group. Abderrahim tired his luck, but he was brought back by this ever-reducing group at the front.
Brandon McNulty has taken a flyer off the front of the peloton. He is 59 seconds back on the leaders as he crosses through the finish line. The peloton is just 13 seconds behind him.
73km remaining from 191km
McNulty already has a medal from this year's competition with second in the time trial. He is now just 46 second behind the leaders, but he has a small lead on the peloton too. It's very close to coming together.
McNulty continues to close on the leaders. He's just 30 seconds back, but still the peloton is very close behind. More riders trying to jump across and join the American.
McNulty sweeping past dropped members of this move. Groselj, Cowan and Gamper are the three riders chasing behind McNulty.
Groselj, Cowan and Gamper have caught and passed Mugisha as McNulty has the other members of the breakaway in his sights now. This has been an impressive attack from the American.
69km remaining from 191km
The other chasers have been caught by the peloton and there are only 12 seconds between the McNulty group and the peloton as they hit Salmon Hill once again.
The peloton looms into view behind and McNulty goes on the attack again. He's struggling to get a gap this time though.
A bike problem for Dmitrii Strakhov. He doesn't look too stressed out by it as he casually leans up against the barriers while he waits for a replacement.
Six riders in this front group with a very small advantage over the peloton, but there are more trying to join up with them. The Italians missed this split and they want in on the party.
A puncture for Portugal's Fernandes. He was in the breakaway but he's well out the back now. A very bad point to get that.
63km remaining from 191km
There have been some changes to this front group but up there we have Hindley once again, McNulty, Sivakov, Tiller, Muller and Albanese.
Apologies, the timing screens had it wrong. It is Gidich in that front group not Albanese.
Sweden's Hoog is also in that front group.
Gidich was very close to that front group but he is about to be brought back by the peloton so up front we now have Hindley, McNulty, Sivakov, Tiller, Muller and Hoog. This is a very strong move but they have just 22 seconds on the peloton at the moment.
Hindley isn't happy and he tries to give the escapees the hurry up. Behind him he can see that Gidich has got the company of Scott Davies and they're making up ground again.
The two chasers have made contact while the peloton is still 30 seconds behind.
53km remaining from 191km
A reminder of the front group: Jai Hindley (Australia), Brandon McNulty (USA), Pavel Sivakov (Russia), Rasmus Fossum Tiller (Norway), Patrick Muller (Switzerland), Gustav Hoog (Sweden) and Yevgeniy Gidich (Kazakhstan).
The impetus has drastically gone out of the peloton and the seven leaders have 1:27 now.
The Kazakh team stations a rider on the front of the peloton to try and slow the bunch down but the nations that have missed out are having none of it. France goes on the attack and two riders from Spain try to follow. We also have riders from Denmark and Portugal in there.
More and more riders coming across to this chase group including Britain's James Shaw. Spain is keen to push things along and they are driving on the front.
Mikkel Froelich Honore (Denmark), Franck Bonnamour (France), James Shaw (Great Britain), Artem Nych (Russia) Edoardo Affini (Italy), Ivo Oliveira (Portugal) Alexandr Riabushenko (Belarus) and Hector Carretero (Spain) are among those in that second group on the road.
45km remaining from 191km
Ivan Garcia Cortina is the one rider that we've missed out from that chasing group. They're closing in on the seven-man group up front. Meanwhile, the peloton is still a minute behind them.
It looks like that we've lost Hoog from that front group now. Just six remain out front as the leaders approach the penultimate lap.
The chase group is back with the peloton and Spain has amassed on the front. They are doing some damage and have cut the advantage of the six out front to just 30 seconds.
39km remaining from 191km
The leaders begin the penultimate lap and they must sense the peloton close behind them. The gap is really coming down and Spain must be thinking about something on this penultimate ascent of Salmon Hill.
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Spain is working for Ivan Garcia Cortina. He is rides for WorldTour team Bahrain-Merida and comes here off the back of a strong Vuelta a Espana. WorldTour riders have been allowed to ride in the under 23 event since last year, which was a contentious change to the regulations.
Riders dropping off the back of this front group. Hindley is in trouble and McNulty has gone off the back too.
33km remaining from 191km
Hindley has been brought back to the peloton as Italy tries a brief move off the front. They've missed out time and again in this race and are showing their frustration with the attacks.
Just 13 seconds now between what is left of the peloton and this leading group as the climb ramps up.
In the break, Gidich attacks. Meanwhile Spain is trying to force things again in the peloton.
Gidich is kept under control and the leaders begin looking at each other. The lull is enough for the peloton to get them within their clutches. Just a few metres separate the groups.
30km remaining from 191km
It is gruppo compatto now as the peloton hits the top of the climb and Colombia moves to the front.
And we have an attack from Belgium.
The rider in question is Lambrecht. He doesn't have anyone with him as he now begins the descent.
24km remaining from 191km
Lambrecht has been brought back on this descent. There are plenty of riders trying to break clear and there are some splits through the bunch. There are plenty of riders who have been shed off the back.
Australia have two riders up at the front as France attacks off the peloton.
Great Britain pushing hard on the front of the peloton, which is fast approaching the finish line again. The riders will hear the bell toll. One more lap to go after this.
As the riders set off on the final lap, we have to commend the Norwegian fans again. It might be a Friday but they have been out in huge numbers for all the races today and this week. The atmosphere has been incredible in Bergen.
18km remaining from 191km
One of the Italians have attached off the front and five riders are trying to follow. We can expect a very aggressive final lap.
The Italian on the front is Albanese. He has been at this all race. Can he make it work this time?
Albanese has been caught by the chasers and now one of the French has gone off the front.
As well as having one rider up the road, France also has a rider in the chasing group. They are playing it well here. It is Benjamin Thomas out front and he is a very strong rider.
Thomas is a world champion on the track. He has been brought back by the chasers: Wilmar Andres Paredes Zapata (Colombia), Valentin Madouas (France), Mauricio Moreira (Uruguay) and Michael Storer (Australia).
Norway, Denmark and Russia are leading the chase behind as the riders hit the climb for the last time.
Germany has attacked from the peloton and joined that group out front. Now it is Poland leading the chase behind.
Meanwhile, defending champion Kristoffer Halvorsen has blown up on the climb. He does not look like he will get back to the group up front.
The German rider in that front group is Lennard Kamna, who rode a brilliant Vuelta a Espana and won gold in the team time trial last Sunday. He has now attacked his breakaway companions.
Kamna is digging deep but the French are chasing hard behind.
11km remaining from 191km
The group chasing Kamna is struggling and he's building his lead now. If he can get to the top with a decent lead then he stands a good chance at taking victory.
In the peloton, Denmark is trying to bring things back, while France continues to lead the immediate chase just behind Kamna.
Kamna has 12 seconds on the chasing group of four behind him. The peloton is a further nine seconds back, but it has been decimated by the climb.
Lennard Kamna is the youngest member of @TeamSunweb which won the Team TT in @bergen2017 last sunday #Bergen2017
Benoit Cosnefroy took all sorts of risks on that descent and he has managed to bridge the gap to Kamna. There is a Colombian rider not too far behind too.
Cosnefroy adopting the position made famous by Mohoric by riding on the top tube. He needs every advantage he can get because he and Kamna have just 12 seconds on the peloton.
Zapata is still in no man's land between the leaders and the peloton. Meanwhile, Norway has attacked the peloton with Skaarseth.
3km remaining from 191km
Kamna attacks.
Skaarseth has been brought back by the bunch and now Spain goes on the move.
It is Garcia Cortina and those two leaders will not want to be caught by him. He has a very good sprint.
2km remaining from 191km
The gap is coming down but not that quickly. It is 10 seconds with 2.7 to go.
2km remaining from 191km
Garcia Cortina is being brought back by the peloton as is Zapata. These two leaders are giving it everything to hold the bunch off.
The leaders are working relatively well together but they are sizing each other up too. They could get caught by the peloton if they're not careful.
The peloton can see the two leaders, but the leading duo are under the flamme rouge.
500 metres and the two leaders have a small gap
The bunch is charging but can they catch them.
Cosnefroy attacks
Cosnefroy wins ahead of Kamna
Sendgaard of Denmark took the bronze medal.
For the second time today, that course has thrown up a thrilling finale. This morning is was Pirrone who won with a solo attack. This afternoon, it was a two-pronged move. Cosenefroy put in a huge effort to catch Kamna on the descent and then nailed him in the sprint.
There were times in those final few kilometres that it looked like the two leaders would be caught by the peloton but they had enough to beat them by just 3 seconds.
The professionals will no doubt have watched both of the races today and taken note. Both have been won by attacks, although on different laps. There will be much more firepower in the elite pelotons to bring a move like those back, but today's races have showed that a well timed attack can stick and the margins don't have to be that big to take the gold medal.
Here is the top 10. Spain noticeably missed out there, while Italy did manage to get into the top 5 after all those attacks. A solid ride from Britain's Oli Wood for fourth and Mark Downey of Ireland in ninth. The home nation got a rider into the top 10 while France and Germany had two each in the top 10.
1 Benoit Cosnefroy (France) 4:48:23 2 Lennard Kämna (Germany) 3 Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Denmark) 0:00:03 4 Oliver Wood (Great Britain) 5 Vincenzo Albanese (Italy) 6 Damien Touze (France) 7 Max Kanter (Germany) 8 Michal Paluta (Poland) 9 Mark Downey (Ireland) 10 Anders Skaarseth (Norway)
For results, photos and our report from today's race, click here.
Benoît Cosnefroy's week: First pro win last Sun at GP Isbergues, followed by rainbow jersey on Fri. Not a bad effor… https://t.co/pjJ3ibeLxF
