PONFERRADA, Spain: Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski timed his attack to perfection to beat the top favourites and claimed gold in the men’s elite race at the road cycling world championships yesterday.
Kwiatkowski attacked just before the final climb, caught the four breakaway riders in front of him and quickly dropped them, crossing the line with a one-second advantage over a group of chasers.
Among them was pre-race favourite Simon Gerrans of Australia, who finished second ahead of Spain’s Alejandro Valverde.
“I was feeling great in the last lap, thanks to the work of my team-mates,” said Kwiatkowski at the end of a 254.8-km effort, who succeeds Portuguese Rui Costa as champion.
“I risked it all when I saw that most of the top riders were still there. I had watched the Under-23 race and I saw that a lone rider could win.”
The win capped a remarkable season for the 24-year-old Pole, who won the Strade Bianche Italian one-day race and also took third places in the prestigious Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege classics.
On a course that was much less selective than advertised, even if it featured two climbs on the 18.2-km circuit, the big nations still had many options left on the last of 14 laps. Vasil Kiryienka of Belarus, France’s Cyril Gautier, Dane Valgren Andresen and Italian Alessandro De Marchi were still ahead of the pack inside the last 10km but soon Kwiatkowski sped past them.
Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert worked hard in a group of chasers to bring back team-mate Greg van Avermaet but he fell just short as Kwiatkowski had time to zip up his jersey and celebrate before crossing the line. Just like last year, Chris Froome abandoned as Britain failed again to be a factor in the race.
Time trial specialist Tony Martin tried luck solo early on but his effort was doomed and the German was reined in within distance of the finish. He later quit the race.REUTERS
