Nat Bromhead
‘Wet, wet, wet’ was the over-riding theme of the 2019 World Championships in Yorkshire, the UK, with heavy rain and flooding marring numerous events including the finale – the Elite Men’s Road Race on Sunday.
The final was a race of attrition with many big names and event high-profile young guns not making the finish.
23yo Dane Mads Pedersen is the new World Champion after an epic battle between the best riders in the world and the worst of Yorkshire weather. Pederson beat Italy’s Matteo Trentin and Switzerland’s time trialist Stefan Küng in a three-man sprint. The three held a 1-minute lead over the chasing peleton right to the end.
“I surely didn’t expect this when we started this morning,” said Pederson who went to the World’s to support higher profile countryman Jacob Fuglsang.
“It was an unbelievable day. It’s every rider’s dream to wear this jersey. The plan was to get me out in the early final laps and then [Jakob] Fuglsang and others would come from behind. But in the end, they didn’t follow Van der Poel and Trentin when they came to my group. Then it was just survive, survive, survive and then hope for the best in the sprint.
