UCI Road World Championships: Philippe Gilbert captures gold

Philippe Gilbert gave Belgium its 26th men’s world title with a dominant performance on the finely balanced course in Limburg (Netherlands), on Sunday.

The classy Belgian rider was expected to attack on the final climb of the Cauberg and he did just that, jumping away from Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali and then powering to the finish. He opened such a big gap that his rivals hesitated behind and refused to work together, giving Gilbert the time to celebrate with his arms in the air and win by four seconds.

Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen finished second, with Spain’s Alejandro Valverde taking third at five seconds. Germany’s John Degenkolb was fourth and Lars Boom of the Netherlands was fifth, with other star names packing the results after a spectacular race.

“It’s incredible to have won the world title. It’s still difficult to comprehend, it’s all very emotional. I’m especially happy to win here, so close to my home. It’s a local race for me,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert praised his teammates after the Belgian riders worked hard all race, controlling and chasing the breakaways. The early 11-rider breakaway was joined by other strong riders in the final laps but the Belgian riders never let them escape and then set up Gilbert for the final climb of the Cauberg.

“The Belgian team did a huge amount of work and so we deserved this,” Gilbert said. “Bjorn Leukemans positioned me perfectly at the foot of Cauberg. I looked back quickly and then I attacked. The Cauberg climb really suits me and I can use the big ring. I took advantage of that. I got a gap similar to when I won the Amstel Gold Race (in 2010 and 2011, Ed.), so it was perfect.”

Boasson Hagen was unable to go with Gilbert when he attacked on the Cauberg but then surged clear himself to secure second place.

“It was very good to get second place and we were close to gold. My teammates rode well and did a great job. I am very grateful to them. Gilbert was very strong and there was nothing I could do,” he said.

Valverde was disappointed that he was unable to finish off the work done by his Spanish teammates.

“I’m annoyed because my bronze could have been gold. I did the right thing chasing after Gilbert. I saw he was going and I reacted, even if it was late,” he said.

“We were going to work for Oscar Freire but when I saw that Gilbert had opened a big gap, I decided to attack too. I think I did the right thing. It just wasn’t possible to follow Gilbert when he made his break. We just didn’t get it together. There was no collaboration between any of us because we were not far from the line and each of us had a medal in our heads.”

The Elite Men’s road race brought down the curtain on the 2012 UCI World Road Championships. Tuscany will host the 2013 event with a spectacular circuit on the streets of Renaissance Florence.

Results

1 31 GILBERT Philippe BEL19820705 6:10:41 +0
2 68 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald NOR19870517 6:10:45 +4
3 18 VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro ESP19800425 6:10:46 +5
4 87 DEGENKOLB John GER19890107 "  "  
5 46 BOOM Lars NED19851230 "  "  
6 38 DAVIS Allan AUS19800727 "  "  
7 79 VOECKLER Thomas FRA19790622 "  "  
8 173 NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas LTU19880130 "  "  
9 102 HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis COL19871210 "  "  
10 13 FREIRE GOMEZ Oscar ESP19760215 "  "  
11 65 COSTA Rui POR19861005 "  "  
12 28 BOONEN Tom BEL19801015 "  "  
13 20 GATTO Oscar ITA19850101 "  "  
14 83 SAGAN Peter SVK19900126 "  "  
15 183 KESSIAKOFF Fredrik Carl Wilhelm SWE19800517 "  "  
16 47 DE KORT Koen NED19820908 "  "  
17 93 ALBASINI Michael SUI19801220 "  "  
18 162 BAZAYEV Assan KAZ19810222 "  "  
19 8 TIERNAN-LOCKE Jonathan GBR19841226 "  "  
20 69 NORDHAUG Lars Petter NOR19840514 "  "  
21 39 GERRANS Simon AUS19800516 "  "  
22 160 DENIFL Stefan AUT19870920 "  "  
23 105 URAN URAN Rigoberto COL19870126 "  "  
24 15 MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel ESP19810905 "  "  
25 35 VAN AVERMAET Greg BEL19850517 "  "  
26 32 LEUKEMANS Bjorn BEL19770701 "  "  
27 92 WEGMANN Fabian GER19800620 "  "  
28 120 KOLOBNEV Alexandr RUS19810504 "  "  
29 23 NIBALI Vincenzo ITA19841114 "  "  
30 64 CARDOSO Andre Fernando S. Martins POR19840903 6:10:58 +17
31 146 GRIVKO Andriy UKR19830807 "  "  
32 48 GESINK Robert NED19860531 "  "  
33 200 MARTIN Daniel IRL19860820 "  "  
34 202 ROCHE Nicolas IRL19840703 "  "  
35 34 ROELANDTS Jurgen BEL19850702 "  "  
36 6 STANNARD Ian GBR19870525 6:11:34 +53
37 91 MARTENS Paul GER19831026 "  "  
38 11 CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto ESP19821206 "  "  
39 16 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin ESP19790512 "  "  
40 121 TROFIMOV Yury RUS19840126 6:11:42 +1:01
41 17 SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel ESP19780205 6:12:18 +1:37
42 45 TANNER David AUS19840930 "  "  
43 62 TALANSKY Andrew USA19881123 6:12:35 +1:54
44 180 MANDRI Rene EST19840120 6:13:02 +2:21
45 184 LARSSON Gustav SWE19800920 "  "  
46 128 RUTKIEWICZ Marek POL19810508 "  "  
47 100 BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto COL19891013 "  "  
48 51 MOLLEMA Bauke NED19861126 "  "  
49 151 ANDRIATO Rafael BRA19871020 "  "  
50 97 SCHÄR Michael SUI19860929 "  "  
51 178 SMUKULIS Gatis LAT19870415 "  "  
52 171 SORENSEN Chris Anker DEN19840905 "  "  
53 125 MARYCZ Jaroslaw POL19870417 "  "  
54 141 MIYAZAWA Takashi JPN19780227 "  "  
55 49 KROON Karsten NED19760129 "  "  
56 52 SLAGTER Tom Jelte NED19890701 "  "  
57 72 CHAVANEL Sylvain FRA19790630 "  "  
58 188 ROGINA Radoslav CRO19790303 "  "

59 152 BARTA Jan CZE19841207 "  "  
60 7 SWIFT Ben GBR19871105 "  "  
61 123 GOLAS Michal POL19840429 "  "  
62 190 DRUCKER Jean-Pierre LUX19860903 "  "  
63 94 FRANK Mathias SUI19861209 "  "  
64 60 HOWES Alex USA19880101 "  "  
65 118 GUSEV Vladimir RUS19820704 "  "  
66 54 TERPSTRA Niki NED19840518 "  "  
67 95 MORABITO Steve SUI19830130 "  "  
68 99 ANACONA GOMEZ Winner COL19880811 "  "  
69 103 QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander COL19900204 "  "  
70 2 CUMMINGS Stephen GBR19810319 "  "  
71 66 PAULINHO Sergio PRO19800326 "  "  
72 89 GESCHKE Simon GER19860313 "  "  
73 41 HAUSSLER Heinrich AUS19840225 "  "  
74 22 MOSER Moreno ITA19901225 6:13:15 +2:34
75 25 PAOLINI Luca ITA19770117 6:13:27 +2:46
76 24 NOCENTINI Rinaldo ITA19770925 "  "  
77 21 MARCATO Marco ITA19840211 "  "  
78 37 CLARKE Simon AUS19860718 6:13:34 +2:53
79 88 FROHLINGER Johannes GER19850609 "  "  
80 90 KNEES Christian GER19810305 "  "  
81 12 FLECHA GIANNONI Juan Antonio ESP19770917 "  "  
82 111 BOZIC Borut SLO19800808 "  "  
83 109 VEILLEUX David CAN19871126 "  "  
84 74 DELAGE Mickael FRA19850806 "  "  
85 27 ULISSI Diego ITA19890715 "  "  
86 122 VORGANOV Eduard RUS19821207 "  "  
87 149 POLIVODA Oleksandr UKR19870331 6:13:52 +3:11
88 5 ROWE Luke GBR19900310 6:16:27 +5:46
89 119 ISAICHEV Vladimir RUS19860421 "  "  
90 33 MEERSMAN Gianni BEL19851205 6:18:51 +8:10
91 80 JURCO Matej SVK19840808 6:19:36 +8:55
92 194 OYARZUN Carlos CHI19811026 "  "  
93 198 KUCHYNSKI Aliaksandr BLR19791027 "  "  
94 199 PAPOK Siarhei BLR19880106 "  "  
95 206 HISTROV Stefan BUL19850712 "  "  
96 174 SISKEVICIUS Evaldas LTU19881230 "  "  
97 144 OCHOA Carlos Jose VEN19801214 "  "  
98 61 PHINNEY Taylor USA19900627 "  "  
99 195 KUSZTOR Peter HUN19841227 "  "  
100 50 LINDEMAN Bertjan NED19890616 "  "  
101 127 NIEMIEC Przemyslaw POL19800411 "  "  
102 126 MORAJKO Jacek POL19810426 "  "  
103 55 BOOKWALTER Brent USA19840216 "  "  
104 157 RABON Frantisek CZE19830926 "  "  
105 201 Mc LAUGHLIN Ronan IRL19870311 "  "  
106 159 BRANDLE Matthias AUT19891207 "  "  
107 153 KADLEC Milan CZE19741013 "  "  
108 106 HESJEDAL Ryder CAN19801209 "  "  
109 204 GEORGIEV Georgi Petrov BUL19850803 "  "  
110 107 PARISIEN Francois CAN19820427 "  "  
111 86 BURGHARDT Marcus GER19830630 "  "  
112 185 LOVKVIST Thomas SWE19840404 "  "  
113 154 KONIG Leopold CZE19871115 "  "  
114 179 KANGERT Tanel EST19870311 "  "  
115 113 KOCJAN Jure SLO19841018 "  "  
116 158 STYBAR Zdenek CZE19851211 "  "

117 186 DURASEK Kristijan CRO19870726 "  "  
118 133 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Jacques RSA19870906 "  "  
119 53 TEN DAM Laurens NED19801113 "  "  
120 26 TRENTIN Matteo ITA19890802 6:20:25 +9:44
121 193 AMADOR BAKKAZAKOVA Andrey CRC19860829 6:21:04 +10:23
122 10 CASTROVIEJO NICOLAS Jonathan ESP19870427 "  "  
170 FUGLSANG Jakob DEN19850322 DNF
114 KOREN Kristijan SLO19861125 DNF
112 BRAJKOVIC Janez SLO19831218 DNF
110 BOLE Grega SLO19850813 DNF
197 KIRYIENKA Vasil BLR19810628 DNF
117 FIRSANOV Sergey RUS19820703 DNF
164 MURAVYEV Dmitriy KAZ19791102 DNF
19 CATALDO Dario ITA19850317 DNF
14 LASTRAS GARCIA Pablo ESP19760120 DNF
181 TAARAMAE Rein EST19870424 DNF
135 THOMSON Jay Robert RSA19860412 DNF
44 SULZBERGER Wesley AUS19861020 DNF
40 HANSEN Adam AUS19811105 DNF
73 COPPEL Jerome FRA19860806 DNF
76 JEROME Vincent FRA19841126 DNF
136 ARASHIRO Yukiya JPN19840922 DNF
59 HORNER Christopher USA19711023 DNF
63 VAN GARDEREN Tejay USA19880812 DNF
75 GALLOPIN Tony FRA19880524 DNF
29 DE WEERT Kevin BEL19820527 DNF
172 KONOVALOVAS Ignatas LTU19851208 DNF
70 RASCH Gabriel NOR19760408 DNF
143 MONSALVE Jonathan VEN19890620 DNF
71 BOUET Maxime FRA19861103 DNF
205 GRASHEV Martin BUL19870114 DNF
96 RAST Gregory SUI19800117 DNF
98 ZAUGG Oliver SUI19810509 DNF
67 PIRES Bruno POR19810515 DNF
156 KREUZIGER Roman CZE19860506 DNF
104 RUBIANO CHAVEZ Miguel Angel COL19841003 DNF
101 DUARTE AREVALO Fabio Andres COL19860611 DNF
78 VICHOT Arthur FRA19881126 DNF
43 PORTE Richie AUS19850130 DNF
57 DUGGAN Timothy USA19821114 DNF
42 MATTHEWS Michael AUS19900926 DNF
182 YEUNG Ying Hon HKG19880730 DNF
36 VAN SUMMEREN Johan BEL19810204 DNF
56 BUSCHE Matthew USA19850509 DNF
187 MIHOLJEVIC Vladimir CRO19740118 DNF
115 KUMP Marko SLO19880909 DNF
207 FERRARI BARCELO Fabricio URU19850603 DNF
166 DEAN Julian NZL19750128 DNF
150 POPOVYCH Yaroslav UKR19800104 DNF
134 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt RSA19890203 DNF
145 BUTS Vitaliy UKR19861024 DNF
147 KOSTYUK Denys UKR19820313 DNF
161 SCHORN Daniel AUT19881021 DNF
163 DYACHENKO Alexsandr KAZ19831017 DNF
116 MEZGEC Luka SLO19880627 DNF
167 ROULSTON Hayden NZL19810110 DNF
137 BEPPU Fumiyuki JPN19830410 DNF
58 EUSER Lucas USA19831205 DNF

129 MONTENEGRO Jorge Martin ARG19830507 DNF
148 KRIVTSOV Dmytro UKR19850403 DNF
82 SAGAN Juraj SVK19881223 DNF
81 KOVAC Maros SVK19770411 DNF
124 MARCZYNSKI Tomasz POL19840306 DNF
196 PLIUSCHIN Alexandr MDA19870113 DNF
191 GASTAUER Ben LUX19871114 DNF
77 ROY Jeremy FRA19830622 DNF
85 VELITS Peter SVK19850221 DNF
169 BRESCHEL Matti DEN19840831 DNF
4 FROOME Christopher GBR19850520 DNF
9 WIGGINS Bradley GBR19800428 DNF
168 SERGENT Jesse NZL19880708 DNF
142 GIL MARTINEZ Tomas Aurelio VEN19770523 DNF
155 KOZUBEK Stanislav CZE19800609 DNF
132 RICHEZE Maximiliano Ariel ARG19830307 DNF
30 DEVENYNS Dries BEL19830722 DNF
189 DIDIER Laurent LUX19840719 DNF
130 MOYANO Enzo ARG19890215 DNF
139 FUKUSHIMA Shinichi JPN19710913 DNF
138 DOI Yukihiro JPN19830918 DNF
3 DOWSETT Alex GBR19881003 DNF
177 SARAMOTINS Aleksejs LAT19820408 DNF
131 MULLER Mauricio ARG19811020 DNF
165 CHAABANE Hichem ALG19880810 DNF
1 CAVENDISH Mark GBR19850521 DNF
140 HATANAKA Yusuke JPN19850621 DNF
176 RUSLI Amir MAS19870205 DNF
108 TUFT Svein CAN19770509 DNF
175 LOH Sea Keong MAS19861102 DNF
84 VELITS Martin SVK19850221 DNF
192 JOVANOVIC Nebojsa SRB19830327 DNF
203 ASADOV Elchin AZE19870212 DNF