THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Siutsou takes U-23 road title in style
After producing two solo wins in two races on the opening day of the road racing portion of the world road and time trial championships in Verona, Italy, on Friday, it’s clear that the course, with its punchy climb up the Torricelle, can be selective. In Friday afternoon’s race, the little known Belarussian Kanstantsin Siutsou became the latest gold medalist after winning with flair in the under-23 men’s road race.
Siutsou, impressive in the manner in which he stood up to the powerhouse squads including Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Spain among others, outlasted everyone to win the 177km race with a time of 4:33:33.
Thomas Dekker, the Dutchman who was disappointed with his second place finish in the time trial earlier in the week, won a two-man sprint one minute behind Siutsou to pocket a second silver medal this week -- and it was one he said he’ll appreciate much more than the TT medal.
“I’m not so disappointed in this one,” Dekker said after a late surge put him in position to beat Mads Christensen of Denmark, who finished third. “It was the best position for me today because [Siutsou] was 40 seconds ahead.”
Siutsou, who said he will join Italian professional team Fassa Bortolo next year, made all the right moves in a race that ended in heartbreak for the favored Italians.
After a series of failed breakaway attempts in the first half of the race, things started to break up as the climb took its toll during the final 70km. With 40km to go, two Italians — Vincenzo Nibali and Domenico Pozzovivo — and Siutsou attacked out of a lead group of 13. One lap later, Nibali was dropped, leaving Pozzovivo and Siutsou with a small gap at the front.
“I didn’t realize it immediately, but after I saw that we had a little bit of time, I realized it was a good break,” said Siutsou.
With 30km to go, including two more trips up the Torricelle climb, which rises 750 feet above the city of Verona over 3km, Siutsou and Pozzovivo had a lead of 30 seconds over a chase group of 11 that included Decker and Christensen.
With an Italian rider in the lead group and two in the chase, a win looked possible, a medal nearly certain for the home team. As the two leaders hit the final lap they had a lead of 55 seconds over the chase group, and as soon as they hit the climb, Siutsou unleashed a vicious attack. Pozzovivo couldn’t respond, and it got even worse for Italian fans when Dekker and Christensen, having escaped from the chase group, blew past Pozzovivo as well.
Siutsou, who quickly gained 40 seconds on Pozzovivo on the climb, had a safe lead in hand, but the race for second was now between the Dutch Rabobank rookie and the Dane.
One minute ahead, Siutsou, wearing the red team colors of Belarus, crossed the line with an impressive, hard fought win. It was the first world title for a Belarus man in road racing.
As Dekker and Christensen approached the final right-hand turn 700 meters from the long finishing stretch near Verona’s Piazza Bàr, Christensen tried one last move, but Dekker covered him with ease.
“Thomas did all the work on the climb,” said Christensen. “I tried to attack just before the last turn, but Thomas was going very fast, and I couldn’t hold him back.”
Dekker came around the right side of Christensen to win the sprint, becoming the first rider to win two medals in this year’s world championships.
The American team rode an aggressive race, but none of their four riders was able to make the decisive break. Tyler Farrar, riding in his first U23 world championship race, was the top finisher in 28th, 2:40 back.
Americans Tim Duggan and Saul Raisin were both in early breaks, but Farrar said the team’s plan to get Raisin in the final move came up just short.
The road world championships continue on Saturday, with the junior men’s road race and the elite women’s road race, and conclude on Sunday with the elite men’s road event.
RESULTS
1. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr), 4:33:33c
2. Thomas Dekker (Nl), at 1:01
3. Mads Christensen (Dk), at 1:02
4. Domenico Pozzovivo (I), at 1:09
5. Vincenzo Nibali (I), at 1:30
6. Matti Breschel (Dk), at 1:38
7. Giovanni Visconti (I), same time
8. Marc De Maar (Nl), at 1:41
9. Andreas Dietziker (Swi), at 1:50
10. Nick Ingels (B), at 1:51
11. Filipe Cardoso (P), at 2:03
12. Matic Strgar (Slo), at 2:23
13. Janez Brajkovic (Slo), at 2:24
14. Andriy Grivko (Ukr), at 2:31
15. Eduard Vorganov (Rus), at 2:40Fullresults
