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Cavendish wins world road title
Cavendish produced a trademark sprint finish to take the title
Mark Cavendish won the men’s road race world title in Denmark as his British team rode a near-perfect race.
The eight-man GB line-up ignored all breakaways to control the peloton over the 266km course, delivering Cavendish to the finish in ideal fashion.
Cavendish exploded across the line in a bunch sprint, ahead of Australia’s Matt Goss and German Andre Greipel.
I can’t believe Mark Cavendish managed to deliver with the amount of pressure he’s been under.
Britain had to do the work all day, and it beggars belief how he continues to produce finishes.
Steve Cummings and Chris Froome laid it down early in the race and then Wiggins chased the leaders down from the front of the peloton.
To go out there, let everyone know r plans in advance, then execute was incredible to see. The British team delivered the result.
“We had eight of the best guys in the world. It was incredible, we took it on from start to finish,” said Cavendish.
“I can’t believe it. We knew three years ago when this course was announced – we put a plan together to put these best guys together.
“It’s been three years in the making and just saw they rode incredibly. I’m just so proud.
“The biggest goal next year [is the Olympics] and I hope we can make it a world and Olympic double.”
The 26-year-old’s victory is the first British world road race success since Tom Simpson won gold in 1965.
Cavendish also becomes the first rider since Belgium’s Freddy Maertens, 30 years ago, to win both this race and the Tour de France green jersey in the same year.
His team spent much of the race playing a restrained waiting game as all kinds of attacks developed around them.
An early seven-man break settled into an advantage of around seven minutes around the flat Copenhagen course in the opening 100km, with Britain, chiefly Chris Froome, leading the chasing bunch.
Belgium’s Jason van Summeren led a separate five-man group clear of the peloton at the 150km mark as the race kicked to life earlier than many had expected.
A crash in a narrow portion of the course involving France’s Blel Kadri caused further havoc, leaving some 20 riders – among them Frank Schleck and defending world champion Thor Hushovd – temporarily trapped as service cars and mechanics struggled to reach them.
As the race progressed at a fierce pace, Britain’s tactics became clear: a reluctance to get riders into the moves being made off the fractured front of the group, in favour of an ambition to control proceedings throughout.
Few other nations saw fit to help their watching brief, and GB found themselves policing the peloton – hauling it forward and keeping it together – for almost the entire race.
The breakaway evaporated inside two laps from the finish while Froome, Steve Cummings and Jeremy Hunt fell away from the British train after expending vast sums of energy earlier in the race.
Bradley Wiggins, the world time trial silver medallist earlier this week, produced a superb stint at the front before handing to Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas for the very closing stages.
Thomas threw a panicked look behind him as Cavendish looked in danger of becoming boxed-in as they reached the finishing straight.
But the Manxman accelerated away in trademark style on the right-hand edge of the pack to secure victory.
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