After 267.5km, it came down to a matter of inches. But Peter Sagan is the world champion again, just as he was in 2015 and 2016, and the rainbow jersey is his once more. A remarkable achievement. Thanks for reading!
Some race too for Great Britain’s Ben Swift. He had a mechanical failure with four laps to go, and had to change his bike, but got back in the saddle and back up to the front of the peloton very quickly. With 300m to go, he looked like he might get on the podium, but it wasn’t to be.
That would have hurt for the home favourite Alexander Kristoff. He looked the more likely to take the victory coming down the home straight, but Sagan dug deep and found something. Remember he skipped the Vuelta specially to train for this event, and that might just have been the difference in that last lap.
The photofinish #Bergen2017 pic.twitter.com/eV5ar6eOBb
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) September 24, 2017
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Former Astana rider Scarponi died earlier this year while on a training ride following a collision with a minibus.
Sagan – I’m sorry to say without his long locks, he’s had a haircut – looks relaxed, laughing and joking with his friends as he makes his way through the crowd. He looks like he’s been out for a morning stroll, not 6hours28minutes in the saddle.
Here he is in front of the cameras:
For the last five kilometres, I said to myself, it’s already done. But it’s unbelievable. This is something special. You saw in the climb, we were in pieces. And at the finish, it all happened in seconds. I am very happy, thank you to all my national team-mates. I want to dedicate this win to Michele Scarponi, it would have been his birthday tomorrow. And I want to dedicate this victory to my wife. We are expecting a baby.
Matteo Trentin of Italy grabs fourth and Great Britain’s Ben Swift comes in fifth! What a performance!
Sagan is mobbed by his adoring fans. The Slovakian becomes the first man to ever win three consecutive world titles. He’s quickly becoming a legend in this sport. We barely mentioned his name the whole race, but he bided his time, wasn’t ruffled by the early attacks and timed his move to perfection.
It's @petosagan !!! This is historic!! WHAT A LEGEND 🌈🌈🌈 Historic triple! #Bergen2017 pic.twitter.com/saJawOTG2G
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 24, 2017
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Peter Sagan wins his third consecutive world road race title!
Sagan pips Kristoff on the line! By only a few inches. That was a photo finish, but Sagan just about got there ahead of Kristoff! Michael Matthews, the Australian, comes in third.
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Alexander Kristoff and Peter Sagan go for the line, they’re neck and neck and they sprint down the home straight! 100m to go!
It’s all change! Alaphilippe has gone. Ben Swift is there, Sagan is there …
Helpfully, the TV coverage has dropped completely. The single camera that seems to be working is a fixed one on the 1km mark. We’re waiting to see who comes round the corner first …
Alaphilippe has dropped Moscon! Three kilometres left!
Five kilometres left, as the riders rush down the flat into the city centre. Vasil Kiryienka is closing on the two leaders. Onto the cobbles they go, will we see another attack?
This is by no means a definite race-winning lead over the peloton. Simon Geschke is leading the chasing pack, GB’s Ben Swift is there too! Where is Sagan?
Out of nowhere, Italy’s Gianni Moscon, who is normally part of Team Sky, joins Alaphilippe. So it’s two riders out front, with a lead of about 10 seconds. Nine kilometres left! Ten minutes!
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And it is Alaphilippe that pulls away! He’s out of his own, but has a decent lead of about five seconds. Up on his haunches he pulls himself up Salmon Hill.
Greg Van Avermaet attacks! Ooooof! Julian Alaphilippe follows!
And onto Salmon Hill we go. It’s the first bit of the climb that is the hardest. The Swiss are well positioned. This is it!
Tony Gallopin is the next to go. But he’s on his own. No chance.
Yep, Langeveld and Martens are caught. They went too early. Oh my! Something from the spectators rolled into the middle of the road, and about 10 riders came within a hair’s breadth of hitting it. That could have been disastrous!
It’s all going to come down to the final climb of Salmon Hill, I’m sure. Langeveld and Martens would have expended a lot of energy there, and there’s fresh legs at the front of the peloton.
The peloton hurl themselves up the first of the three inclines, as they leave the city centre. Dutchman Sebastian Langeveld and Germany’s Paul Martens lead an attack out and open up a gap! 14km to go.
Mas did open up a gap of about five seconds but the peloton is stubborn. We are one group once more. The riders cross the line for the last time –19km left – and the bell sounds, the crowd goes wild. The people line the streets in the city centre, and there’s a large park with a big screen with people cheering. I can’t see a blade of grass, they like they’re cycling in Norway.
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If you’re wondering where Sagan is, he’s nestled nicely in the peloton, sheltered. The riders cruise down the hill into the city centre for the penultimate time. Spain’s Lluís Mas is the next to have a go, but he’s on his own. One lap to go.
Thirty kilometres to go. Wellens’s leading pack still has a small lead, six seconds. Dumoulin has been caught. But we’ll see lots of these attacks in the next few minutes.
Dumoulin attacks again up Salmon Hill! And this time, he gets clear of the peloton!
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It looks like Wellens and co will be caught. Tom Dumoulin charges out from the peloton with Diego Ulissi but they are caught almost immediately. Just testing the water. But that little burst means that the peloton is just 11 seconds behind now.
The USA’s Tejay van Garderen goes down! He was in the middle of the tightly-packed peloton and touched wheels. He gets his leg caught but doesn’t look hurt. That should be his race over.
Two laps to go as the leaders cross the line for the 10th time. Germany’s Nils Politt has attacked from the peloton on his own, he’s 16 seconds ahead of the pack, 23 seconds behind the leaders.
The leading pack has extended their lead. I really didn’t see that coming, but Wellens – his face grimacing – has put his foot on the gas, dragging six others with him.
That’s not a selection of riders you’d want to give too long a leash to.. Some big teams will thin out if they’ve to chase this. #Bergen2017
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) September 24, 2017
Lots of jostling and chatting going on in the peloton, as team-mates try and get themselves together to discuss their tactical plans for the remains 40km.
Four of the nine British riders have retired: Adam Blythe, Owain Doull, Jonathan Dibben and Ian Stannard have all called it a day.
I reckon we’ve got about an hour of racing left. The average speed is up to about 45km/hr. Britain’s Scott Thwaites at the front of the peloton there.
The gap got to as big as 36 seconds but it’s back to 26 seconds now. Barguil and the French team are leading the chase at the front of the peloton. I think we’ll see them catch the leaders in a few minutes. Up Salmon Hill they go.
The leaders complete their ninth lap, three to go. It’s been five hours and twelve minutes in the saddle so far. Ouch.
The peloton don’t appear to be too concerned by that breakaway group. They aren’t going flat out to reel them in, the gap has risen to 32 seconds. The lead group comprises of Wellens, Boom, Haller, France’s Julian Alaphilippe, Spain’s David de la Cruz, Italy’s Alessandro De Marchi, Colombia’s Jarlinson Pantano and Australia’s Jack Haig.
Sixty-five kilometres to go, and Haller and Wellens now have established a breakaway group of about eight riders as they strode up Salmon Hill. Lars Boom has joined the group. There a gap of about five seconds.
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The peloton splits! The road narrows and as the peloton tightens, there’s a small breakaway at the front, led by New Zealand’s Jack Bauer and France’s Warren Barguil. The peloton quickly catches them, but I think this will be the start of lots of sniping attacks by different riders. We’ll see if any of them stick.
Barguil then has a go, with Lars Boom hot on his heels, but again the peloton reels the Frenchman in. Some of the leading riders – Sagan, Matthews, Hagen, Van Avermaet – are
Marco Haller is the next to lead the charge. He leads the race for about two minutes before Belgium’s Paul Wellens catches his back wheel.
Belgium’s Julian Vermote has had a crash at the front! It looks like a pedal touched the concrete as he zoomed around a bend. He went down hard, and his chain came off. Everyone else managed to avoid him, but that’s Vermote’s race run. He’s OK, gives a thumbs up to the cameras.
The peloton complete another lap, four to go. The average pace is about 40km/hr, but expect that to rise from hereon in.
It rains 250 days a year in Bergen, but the course is bone dry today. That really makes a big difference on a lot of those long, sweeping bends and on that 600m stretch of cobbles. There’s barely a breath of wind.
The peloton envelope Smit, and we are one group. It’s the Belgians and the Polish riders that are at the front at the moment. Michal Kwiatkowski, one of the favourites and the winner of this race in 2014, is there.
Any questions, thoughts or comments, hit me up on michael.butler@theguardian.com | or tweet me @michaelbutler18.
The South African Willem Smit is the only one remaining of that leading group, which was originally a 10-man strong group. But as he glances over his shoulder, the peloton are just a few seconds behind. Smit whizzes down the hill at about 70km/hr and into a tunnel as he enters the city centre.
The peloton have injected some pace, and are now less than 30 seconds behind the leaders. Ninety kilometres to go, and I’m a little surprised that it has taken this long, particularly those that aren’t traditionally sprinters like Tom Dumoulin won’t want to leave it late for his attack. He’ll want to get out in front with a lap or two to go, and hopefully stave off any late challenges.
Salah Eddine Mraouni has slipped from the leading pack, he’s clinging onto the solitary Maxim Belkov, who attacked from the peloton a few minutes ago. But the Moroccan is struggling to keep pace, he’ll slip back.
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The peloton cross the line, there’s five laps to go, and there’s about 2min 45secs behind the leaders. There’s a small crash at the back of the peloton as they whizz round a corner, Colombia’s Nelson Sotto goes down but he’s straight back up and back in the saddle. No other casualties, although of course some of the nearby riders did lose some momentum as they negotiated their way around the crash.
We’ve had just five riders retire out of the 196 starters. The most notable of those is Mathew Hayman, the Australia captain. Another Australian, who does have a genuine chance of victory here, is Michael Mathews, who won the green jersey at this year’s Tour de France.
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The two most challenging parts of the circuit are the 600m ride through the cobbles in the city centre – which adds up to a total of 7km by the time that they have ridden 12 laps – and of course Salmon Hill.
It’s not a massive climb, just 1.5km, but the total climb in the race adds up to 2,400m, which is nothing to sniff at.
In terms of the finish, the city centre is pancake flat, has those cobbles, and a hairpin bend about 300m before the line, which there is a straight sprint to. I expect there to be a sprint finish on the final lap, although it probably won’t be a big group. Salmon Hill should break up the peloton nicely.
There’s about 100km to go then, and the leaders are less than 1min57secs ahead of the peloton. It’s not a case of if they will be caught, but when.
Brit watch: Mark Cavendish is not here – he was pipped on the line in last year’s race by Sagan, and knocked off his bike by the Slovakian at the Tour de France – he is still recovering from his injuries and there’s also no Geraint Thomas. There’s nothing left in the tank for Chris Froome, who claimed bronze in the time trial here earlier this week.
Ben Swift represents probably GB’s best hope, although he’s realistically probably aiming for a top-10 finish. GB do have a full nine-man team out here, including Peter Kennaugh, Ian Stannard, Owain Doull and Adam Blyth.
Ooooof! The gap between peloton and the leaders is now down less than three minutes and Russia’s Maxim Belkov have just launched a chase of the pack, he’s 27 seconds clear of the peloton, 2min21secs behind the leaders.
The race started with a 40km ride along the coast into Bergen, and they are just about to start their seventh lap of 12 around the city circuit, which includes a 1.5km climb up Salmon Hill – a 6.4% average gradient to the top – which is 987m above sea level.
Take a look at today's course for the Men's Elite Road Race
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 24, 2017
196 riders 🚴 267.5km 🏁#Bergen2017 pic.twitter.com/UTWZUNx4Jf
It’s fair to say there’s a bit more enthusiasm on the sidelines compared to last year’s race in Doha …
This is how it looks like to go up ↗️ Salmon 🐟 Hill right now... #Bergen2017 pic.twitter.com/3UCEGrAho1
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 24, 2017
We join the men’s race about 150km into 267.5km race. Their is a breakaway group of nine riders – Ireland’s Conor Dunne, Sean McKenna, USA’s Alexey Vermeulen, South Africa’s Willem Jakobus Smit, Morocco’s Salah Eddine Mraouni, Costa Rica’s Andrey Amador, Sweden’s Kim Magnusson, Azerbaijan’s Elchin Asadov and Albania’s Eugert Zhupa.
Three minutes and 50 seconds behind them is the peloton, including Lars Boom, Dumoulin, Sagan, Michal Kwiatkowski, Edvald Boasson Hagen and some of the other favourites.
The gap was as big as eight minutes so the peloton are slowly reeling the leaders in.
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Anyway, back to more important matters in Norway. Holland’s Chantal Blaak was the surprise winner of women’s world road race title yesterday: she’s served as a domestique in various teams throughout the years but was fully deserving of the win, despite suffering a nasty crash early on – that left her with a bloodied shoulder - she broke away with six others on the final lap (including three Dutch riders) and eventually pulled clear, rolling home 28 seconds ahead of second-placed Katrin Garfoot.
Britain’s Lizzie Deignan finished a disappointing 41st, three weeks after appendix surgery. Hannah Barnes was the highest-placed British cyclist in 14th overall.
If you haven’t done so already, you should read William Fotheringham’s excellent interview with Deignan, which was published on Friday.
Always worth getting that Grease video out. Superb lip-syncing from Peter and his wife (playing Sandy) Katarina. They got married in 2015, where the Slovakian turned up looking like something out of Game of Thrones, cut a log up with a chainsaw, released a dove and rode off into the sunset.
Preamble
It is fair to say that Peter Sagan has had a mixed 2017 season. From his dramatic crash with Mark Cavendish and subsequent disqualification from the Tour de France to celebrating his 100th career victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec earlier this month, Sagan always seems to keep things interesting and decided to skip the Vuelta a España in order to train specifically for this race – having won it in 2015 and 2016, the Slovakian would become the first man since the race’s 1927 inception to complete the hat-trick. Unsurprisingly he’s favourite to retain his crown.
After the heat, high winds and sandstorms in last year’s race in Doha, Qatar, in which approximately three spectators littered the side of the road, the UCI settled on Bergen in Norway for this year’s edition. Having visited the Norway town once myself, I can tell you that a McDonald’s meal will cost you in excess of £10 and that the weather is changeable, which should at least spice up the technical parts of the race, round the tight-ish corners, and across the cobbles. There’s no rain forecast but a downpour is never very far away in that part of the world.
Sagan’s rivals will include the home favourite Edvald Boasson Hagen, Polish rider Michal Kwiatkowski, Colombian Fernando Gaviria, Italian Matteo Trentin and new time trial champion, Tom Dumoulin. The winner of the 2016 Olympic road race, Belgian Greg Van Avermaet, is also worth a punt.
But all eyes will be on Sagan, and that’s the way he likes it.
Race start: 1pm BST
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