Sagan retains rainbow with sprint masterclass

Slovakian Peter Sagan delivered a masterful finish sprint to find rainbow stripes in Doha desert yesterday.
At the end of a 257.3km race starting from Aspire Zone, which featured a display of extraordinary power and persistence, Sagan emerged from the swirling, straining throng of the world’s best sprinters — the 2011 winner Mark Cavendish and 2005 World Champion Tom Boonen – to retain the title he won last year in Richmond, Virginia.
Sagan was clearly delighted to take his second consecutive world title in front of a group of his fans waving the Slovakian flag at The Pearl, the finish line.
“I don’t believe it, I’m still in shock,” said Sagan after the finish.
Sagan took advantage of the Belgians, who tore the race into pieces at a long cross wind stretch in the desert on the way back to Doha. The Slovak was one of the last riders to make it in the first echelon in the decisive battle after about 75km into the race.
On the finish circuits around the Pearl, only Niki Terpstra and his teammate Tom Leezer of the Netherlands made late attacks before Belgium once more controlled the race with a sprint set to decide the champion.
At the finish line, Sagan went from the opposite side of Cavendish, who just got slightly congested behind Michael Matthews as he went left for the line, and picking a clearer line through a small gap left by Giacomo Nizzolo of Italy.
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.
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 proved his class.
“I am very, very happy because in the crosswinds I was the last rider in the lead group. I felt like the final sprint was in a headwind, so I felt like I went from a little while back. It’s unbelievable.
“I have the biggest group of fans here and I have to thank all of Slovakia because I feel they give me a lot of energy here.”
Sagan now is one of six riders to have won back-to-back world titles after Belgians Georges Ronsse (1928-1929), Rik Van Steenbergen (1956-1957), Rik Van Looy (1960-1961) and Italians Gianni Bugno (1991-1992) and Paolo Bettini (2006-2007).
Cavendish admitted he made a tactical mistake after finishing second. He started his sprint to the finish line directly behind Sagan, who in turn was behind Boonen and Nizzolo.
“I wanted to be on Sagan’s wheel, and ultimately I was and then all of a sudden the road was blocked. I tried to find a way through and with less than 100m to go, I had to stop pedalling. I got back on Boonen, but it was too late to come back on Sagan,” The Manxman said.
“I’m a little bit disappointed. I feel like I lost gold rather winning silver, but that’s how it is. We did all we can. It was my own fault. It wasn’t my legs. I made a mistake. It’s not really nice to do that at a World Championships,” Cavendish said.
Cavendish is already one of only two British men ever to win the world road race, his 2011 victory in Copenhagen the only one since Tom Simpson’s famous effort in a storm-swept San Sebastian in 1965.
Cavendish, Luke Rowe and Adam Blythe were the only British riders who made it into the front group, and their ranks were later reduced to two when Rowe punctured and couldn’t catch back up.
The 35-year-old Etixx-QuickStep ace Boonen almost rolled back the years with a podium finish.
“We took responsibility. We did what we planned, to make the race hard from 75 kilometres to 125, and then the lock went on the race for hundred kilometres. The race was too long, for spectators and everyone. But I was happy with the result in the end. We actually came one guy short. The way the sprint went, I think we did maximum,” Boonen said.

ELITE MEN’S ROAD RACE RESULTS
1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) 5:40:43
2. Mark Cavendish (Great Britain)
3. Tom Boonen (Belgum)
4. Michael Matthews (Australia)
5. Giacomo Nizzolo (Italy)
6. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway)
7. Alexander Kristoff (Norway)
8. William Bonnet (France)
9. Niki Terpstra (Netherlands)
10. Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium)