Anyway, that’s all from me after a gruelling and ultimately compelling old race. Thanks for your company and correspondence and stay on the site for reports and reaction. Bye.
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“I am still in shock,” says a sweat-drenched and breathless Sagan, and thanks “the biggest fans’ group here from Slovakia” who had come to support him. He praises Kolar’s work in the closing stages and gives a shout-out to the regulars from his local, before embracing his brother and fellow rider Juraj. Aww!
Looking at the replay, Cavendish just got slightly congested behind Matthews as he went left for the line, with Sagan going to his right and getting clear to edge home. Boonen takes bronze. You can’t really fault Cavendish’s ride, given the odds he was up against it following the problems his team encountered early in the race, but Sagan was masterful and proved his class again, to take his second world title.
It's @petosagan again! WHAT A CHAMP! #UCIDoha2016 https://t.co/yT3YTnlXN4
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) October 16, 2016
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Peter Sagan wins world road championship!
Stunning finish. Leezer is hauled in, Blythe leads out Cavendish, but Sagan comes through and wins on the line, with Cavendish in second
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Leezer of Holland attacks with 2.5 to go, opening up quite the gap. Has he got enough? Roelandts of Belgium pursues, with Boonen on his wheel. Suddenly Belgium are up against it
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3km to go: Kolar leads from Terpstra. Cavendish is still on Sagan’s wheel in the centre of the group.
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4km to go. Terpstra breaks to the front! But Van Avarmaet goes with him. While Blyth staves off an attack on Cavendish from Boasson Hagen. Then Kolar of Slovakia takes over at the front.
Now Boasson Hagen comes to the front, ahead of his Norwegian team-mates, as Benatti peels away from the front too. Terpstra and Leezer of the Dutch team are still hanging in there as well.
7.5km to go. Naesen pulls away from the front, letting a straining, exerting Stuyven clear at the front, though he’s not pulling out altogether, and he carries on at the back of the pack. But Boonen effectively only has two team-mates left now. What a finish this promises to be – still too tough to call
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The Belgians continue to sit at the front, Cavendish and Blythe continue conferring at the back, Boonen will surely be readying himself …
It looks as if Boonen backs himself in a straight sprint, confident in his Belgian team-mates to set the scene. It’s still a big ask. Meanwhile, Cavendish is on the wheel of Sagan, waiting, calculating. 12km remaining – and still we wait for a big attack or break.
Cavendish and Blythe are still about halfway back in the front group, chatting away about their options, as they come to the bell. One lap to go, with Stuyven at the front, followed by Bennati and Naesen. This looks as if it’s going to be very close, and tense.
12 countries among the leading group: which one is going to win? #UCIDoha2016 pic.twitter.com/Rz7PhsPlOm
— UCI RWC Doha 2016 (@UCIDoha2016) October 16, 2016
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More on the crowds, or lack of. “There’s plenty of people here who want to watch the race,” writes Steven Cumming in Qatar, “the problem is the men’s race is on a Sunday which is the beginning of the working week in the Islamic world. UCI seem to be unable to budge the signature road event due to television rights one thinks.
“Saying that I was at the women’s race yesterday, and there was a conspicuous absence of local support, only western expats or travelling fans. The only sport out here that will get any engagement is motorsport or football (soccer). Qatar 2022 world cup will of course be rammed with international fans predominantly from established rich world footballing nations. Even the dead rubber matches of little significance will get attendances as the authorities will likely draft the local labour population.”
Meanwhile, the third group (the second chasing pack) are now flagged in en masse. 21km to go.
Viviani drops back for a tactical chinwag with his race car – an interesting move so close to the finish – but he’s still in contention, on Sagan’s wheel. the flat course giving little away in terms of offering clues over fatigue or tactics. 25km to go, and still no attacks, though they’re still pedalling at a fair old pace.
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Keukelaire has worked himself to the bone, but it’s now taking its toll and he slips to the back, his shift done. Stuyven of Belgium goes to the front, Blythe and Cavendish still in the midst of it all, crossing the line with two laps to go in 12th and 13th respectively. Remarkably, a number of the initial breakaway group from many hours ago, including Roth, Dougall and Berharne, are still with the leaders now.
The absence of spectators at roadsides does lend a slightly strange atmosphere to everything, as a number of your emails have pointed out. Crossing sports, is this what we can expect at Qatar 2022? On the road, nothing much has changed for a while – are we heading for a straight-up sprint finish? We have 33km remaining.
So, we have 37km remaining now, and challengers to the still-dominant Belgians include Viviani of Italy, Michael Matthews of Australia, Boasson Hagen and Kristoff of Norway, Slovakia’s Sagan and of course Cavendish.
Degenkolb calls it a day! He looks angry and dejected, as has been blatantly obvious for the past hour. Kittel has jacked it in too. The chasing group is now three minutes behind, and out of it.
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Naesen just pulls off the front to let Keukelaire have another turn up the front. Belgium will be disappointed if they can’t manage a victory here, but while Cavendish is among them, he cannot be discounted. Just under 50km to go.
The lead group have been strung out for pretty much the entirety of the 100km or so they’ve been at the head of the race. It’s been intense – will tiredness take its toll? Angry John Degenkolb continues to have a go at the front of the first chasing pack, but they’re still just under two minutes behind.
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So, with the gap at two minutes plus from the chasing group, where and when are the breakaways going to come from the leading group? Cavendish and Sagan both have to calculate how to deal with the team groups around them – from the strongly represented Belgium, Italy and Norway – and might even go against type and work together, as the less protected contenders. There are now four laps to go. Naesen of Belgium remains at the very front.
Keukelaire, who’s ridden excellently, comes to the front for the moment as the Belgian masterclass continues. Cavendish and Sagan remain tight next to each other. Some tomfoolery group in the chasing back as Degenkolb storms across the line between friendly ‘bantz’ and outright needle and squirts a bottle of water at the Belgian Debuscchere behind him. Fraught rush-hour-style road-rage stuff, this, and an official drives over to have a word.
John Degenkolb has lost it! #UCIDoha2016 - the most exciting thing that’s happened in this race
— blogdroed OMB (@blogdroed) October 16, 2016
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The German riders Degenkolb and Griepel are raging against the dying of the light back in the chasing group – they’re more than two minutes behind now and don’t look like making up the ground they need, but they haven’t given up. Yet. 70km to go.
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With five laps to go there are three Belgians and three Italians at the very front (Naesen leading), with Boasson Hagen next, and Boonen and Cavendish just sitting back, poised. No major moves yet until the front-runners can be sure the chasing group’s out of the game.
Degankolb tries another break from the chasing group, which is two minutes behind now, but the German can’t force the issue due to the inevitable Belgian pressure. Blythe is safely back in the leading group, and his team-mate Cavendish is still very much in there, biding his time for the finish.
Bennati is back at the front of the lead group, with Cavendish about two thirds of the way down it. A bit of bother for his team-mate Blythe though – he has to stop to fix a puncture. Greipel meanwhile tries to lead another attack from the chasing group, but the Belgians are having none of it and stay with him. In the second group Scott Thwaites takes a tumble but is back on his bike soon enough.
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Degankolb tries to lead one last break from the chasing pack, but the Belgians have been excellent among this group too and stay on his tail. Up at the front, Boonen is just sitting back as his muckers do the work at the very front but looks composed. Naesen is first over the line at the end of the first lap. And the gap is now 1:40 between the front and the chase group, who might just be effectively knocking it all on the head shortly.
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Way back down the field, the riders in the fourth chasing group are flagged off the course. It’s a measure of how punishing this race has been that it’s a sizeable group indeed. Rowe, Thomas and Cummings are among them – a desperately disappointing end for those GB riders. At the front, the gap between the Belgium-dominated leading group and the main chasing one is stretched to 1:30. Though Viviani of Italy is at the very front at present.
@tomdaviesE17 Cav isn't too disadvantaged - without a team, he might get left alone. He's all about hooking the right wheel in the last 2kms
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) October 16, 2016
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Switzerland’s Michael Schar is another in the fraying chasing group to say, ‘what the hell? Why not have an attack’ and does so, but there’s little that’s concerted going on among that pack.
The Belgians and the Italians appear to have conferred on tactics, with Bennati slipping back into a domestique role, to ensure pressure is maintained on the chasing group, just to keep those fancied riders in the chasing group at arm’s length. 100km to go!
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Bennati of Italy is first over the line at Intermediate 1, followed by Blythe, as they enter the circuit with seven laps to go. Haller attacks to move ahead of the chasing group, in which Britain’s Thwaites and Swift are hanging on in there. Caleb Ewan of Australia pulls out at the first crossing of that finish line.
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Peter Sagan makes a mistake – but only in failing to grab some refreshment; he’s still very much in the mix, race-wise, as is Cavendish, while the Norwegian pair Boasson Hagen and Kristoff are riding well too. It’s been a rotten race for Germany mind, with no riders in the front group, and Greipel and Kittel marooned in the chasing pack. The Belgians are working well to shut down and contain Greipel at the head of that group too.
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The Belgians lead a train at the front, with no real sign of the gap closing to the chasing pack – it’s still just over a minute. Now they’re on the seven-lap circuit Belgium can boss things from here, as they prove by just stepping up the pace a little to keep up that gap.
The leading group are now in The Pearl, approaching the finishing circuit. 120km to go.
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We’re back in more built-up territory now as the riders encounter at a couple of symbols of modern Qatar - a big stadium and a ring road. The leading group have an advantage of a minute and eight seconds over the next one. There’s 123km to go. Boonen, Sagan and Cavendish in contention – Belgium in general in the box seat. Of the early breakaway group, the South African Dougall remains impressively up among the front-riders
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Cavendish is riding well in the circumstances, it must be said, unfazed by the loss of team-mates (though Blythe is sticking to his task) and the dominance of the Belgians, who with six riders in the leading group continue to hold all the aces. A less than chuffed Kittel leads the second group, but it’ll be tough to make that ground now.
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The chasing group, exposed and lacking team-assistance, look poorly placed to reel in the front runners now, especially against an unforgiving wind. Which means the riders in that early breakaway group, staying with the leaders, are still nicely positioned. For the British, Cavendish and Blythe are still on their own and likely to remain so.
The early breakaway group are caught, parting as Boonen leads the Belgian train right through the middle of them, with 144km to go. Sagan and Cavendish are still among the front group, as is Boasson-Hagen of Norway. It’s all gone a bit pear-shaped for Ireland’s Sam Bennett, who was riding strongly earlier but has now dropped right back, possibly suffering from a hand injury.
Main riders in Group 1 of the peloton: @petosagan, @MarkCavendish, @tomboonen1, @GregVanAvermaet , @blingmatthews, @Kristoff87, @Sammmy_Be,. pic.twitter.com/hdo8JwG9x9
— UCI RWC Doha 2016 (@UCIDoha2016) October 16, 2016
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Tom Boonen has 22 stage wins in Qatar under his belt, and it is showing in both his and his team’s performance. Cavendish is still among them in the first chasing group, but shorn of all team-mates bar Rowe (unless the British riders in the second group can make serious ground), he faces a big uphill task now, though not literally, in the punishing, flat windswept desert. Scores on the doors now: 21 seconds from the leaders to group 1, who are a minute or so ahead of the second group.
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Marcel Kittel is another expected contender who’s nowhere, straggling back in the peloton’s third group, as the race calms down a touch after the chaotic kerfuffling of a few kilometres back. Ramirez of Colombia and Lagkuti of Ukraine are the very front two in the race, but it’s almost game over for that first breakaway group, whose lead on the first group is now whittled down to under a minutes and a half.
Meanwhile Andre Greipel, quiet thus far, moves to the front of the second group in the peloton, but he’s some way off making his mark. The second group sits 40 seconds or so behind the first, who are closing on the leading group, which now has a lead of only two and a half minutes.
It’s all got very chaotic, including for the race organisers’ computer system, which is glitch-ridden and confusing the TV commentary team. There are only 25-30 riders in this race now, with Blythe providing the assistance to Cavendish, but the Belgians remain compact and in control, while almost everyone else looks stressed and ragged.
Cavendish and Blythe are the only British riders together in that first group, in which Tom Boonen and Peter Sagan are now nicely placed. It’s going to be very tough for Cavendish now. More crash woe for Colombia, as Ramirez in the leading group skids off onto his backside as his front wheel appears to be lifted off the ground, suggesting the wind is getting up once more. 159km to go.
There are some actual spectators now – well, a couple of people with Spanish flags. In front of them they see a nasty little crash – the Australian Durbridge colliding with Mezgec of Slovenia and Gaviria of Colombia at the back of the second group in the peloton. The Belgian still in command at the front of the first group in the peloton, which is now under four minutes from the leaders.
The 🇧🇪 Belgian team has not been trapped by the echelon #UCIDoha2016 pic.twitter.com/PdXOimB87i
— UCI RWC Doha 2016 (@UCIDoha2016) October 16, 2016
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All sorts going on now. The Belgians are pushing hard now at the head of the peloton, and it’s disrupted Britain’s strategy – Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe have dropped right back, which will concern Cavendish. Sam Bennett, the Belgian born Irish rider, is battling gamely among the Belgians at the front of the peloton. Peter Sagan’s well in contention too – there’s 167km to go, and under five minutes separate the leading group from the rest. There are now two very distinct groups in the peloton.
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We’re heading south again now, the road narrower, a tad more uneven looking, and taking its toll. The Netherlands’ Tom Dumoulin’s had to retreat for technical assistance, a possible flat tyre. The peloton is now properly fragmented and strung out, the British and Belgian riders still pushing strongly at its head. Caleb Ewan of Australia is struggling now, and has dropped right back. And there’s been a nasty little crash involving the American Marcotte, who’s one of three riders unseated.
The Belgian riders make a drive for the front of the peloton, but Britain’s Luke Rowe makes it to the very front of the pack as they make their first turn, Cavendish just behind him. The leading group are being reined in now, the gap down to 6:50. The first splits are beginning to emerge in the peloton, as the British team pile on the pressure. This is impressive stuff.
These are some of the straightest and flattest and frankly dullest roads you’ll see, but they’ll be turning soon, and the peleton has closed on the leading group to under eight minutes, with Corella of Mexico dropping back from it. The British team still look nicely placed at the front of the peloton.
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A swirling sandstorm just misses the front of the peloton, in which the Dutch move up towards the front. The gap to the leading group is now just under nine minutes behind the leading group, but no significant movements as yet. 185km to go.
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A little bit of jostling and jockeying in the peloton as they approach the turn back towards Doha, and the wind begins to pick up. Australia’s Renshaw and Ewan drop to the back for ice pack and cooling assistance before working their way wide on the left back into a congested pack. The absence of crowds or landmarks along the way lends a slightly odd atmosphere to proceedings. 190km to go.
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Mid-amble
Morning everyone. Welcome to live coverage of the men’s world road race. Essential technical maintenance work meant Guardian Towers had to turn the internet off and turn it on again overnight, which means you join us mid-race, but with still just under 200km or so to go in the searing heat in Qatar.
So what’s happening? The early breakaway was led by Ramirez of Colombia, Morocco’s Anass Ait el Abdia, Sergiy Lagkuti of Ukraine, Ryan Roth of Canada, Eritrea’s Natnael Berhane, Nick Dougall of South Africa, and the Mexican Rene Corella. The lead group is about 10 minutes ahead of the peloton, at the head of which Mark Cavendish is being assiduously looked after by Steve Cummings, and his GB team-mates.
It looks mercilessly scorching out there, as they head towards the turn. I feel parched and weary just watching it, and I’m in rainy London.
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