Kwiatkowski bags world title with textbook attack

PONFERRADA, Spain: Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski timed his attack to perfection to beat the top favorites and claim gold in the men’s elite race at the road cycling world championships on Sunday.
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 favorite 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.” 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 10 km 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.