2019 Road World Championships, Daily News Digest, Features, Mads Pedersen, News, Rohan Dennis - September 30, 2019

Mads Pedersen wins the elite men’s world road title: Daily News Digest

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Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:

Mads Pedersen tops Matteo Trentin to take a stunning victory in a rain-soaked elite men’s road race at Yorkshire Worlds, Bahrain-Merida terminates contract with Rohan Dennis, Euskadi-Murias is running out of time to find a new sponsor. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.

Story of the Day: Pedersen wins the elite men’s world road title

Mads Pedersen is the new elite men’s world road champion.

The 23-year-old Dane took a stunning victory on Sunday, out-sprinting Italy’s Matteo Trentin and Switzerland’s Stefan Küng in the surprising finale of a rain-soaked day in Yorkshire.

Pedersen, Trentin, and Küng escaped a much-reduced peloton alongside pre-race favorite Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) and Italy’s Gianni Moscon with some 30 kilometers left to race.

As it became clear the winner would come out of the lead group, all eyes were on van der Poel—but the Dutchman cracked suddenly with 10 kilometers to go and dropped out of contention entirely. With Moscon working for fast-finishing teammate Trentin before dropping off the back, the race came down to a three-rider sprint.

Despite Trentin’s proven kick, Pedersen took a clear win at the Harrogate finish line to become the youngest men’s world road champ since Óscar Freire won the title in 1999.

More to come…

Socially Speaking

Chris Froome (Ineos) is back on the road.

The four-time Tour de France winner, who has spent the last few months recovering from injuries sustained in a bad crash during a recon of the Critérium du Dauphiné time trial, has been training indoors and on the track over the past few weeks. If the photo he has posted to social media is any indication, he’s finally back to riding outdoors now—and probably enjoying weather that sure looks a lot better than the way things have been in Yorkshire this week.

Good to be back on the road again ??????????????????? #cycling pic.twitter.com/E8eY7HQGVd

— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) September 29, 2019

Race Radio

Bahrain-Merida terminates contract with Dennis

Rohan Dennis is no longer with Bahrain-Merida.

The team released a short statement on Sunday – just as the elite men’s road race at Yorkshire Worlds was ending – announcing that it had terminated Dennis’s contract on September 13.

“This termination has not previously been made public to allow Mr Dennis an undisturbed preparation for the UCI 2019 Road World Championships,” read the statement.

“Mr Dennis has referred the termination to the UCI Arbitral Board. Against this background, no further comment will be made at this time.”

Rohan Dennis after winning his second straight world TT title. Photo: ©kramon

Dennis’s strained relationship with his now-former trade team has been more or less public knowledge since the 29-year-old Australian pulled out of this year’s Tour de France during stage 12 on the eve of the time trial, with a dispute over equipment reportedly causing tempers to flare. That would be his last racing appearance for Bahrain-Merida.

Dennis raced at Worlds with the Australian national selection, however, defending his world time trial title this past week and riding not on a Merida TT bike but instead on a BMC, another sign of the rift with his squad.

Apparently as of two weeks ago now, however, he’s free to sign elsewhere for next season.

Van Vleuten after long-range Worlds attack: “All day I thought it was super stupid”

A daring long-range attacked worked out well for Annemiek van Vleuten in Saturday’s elite women’s race at Yorkshire Worlds, but even the 36-year-old Dutchwoman wasn’t sure it was a great idea until she took the victory.

As van Vleuten explained after her Worlds win, the initial plan for the day had been for her and teammate Ann van der Breggen to try to force a selection on the Lofthouse climb. When van Vleuten found herself solo off the front, she just kept pushing, despite the many kilometers still remaining until the Harrogate finish line.

“All day I thought it was super stupid, what I was doing,” she said.

“I thought my national coach would say ‘this is stupid, stop and wait for that group,’ but she said ‘no it’s super good for us, continue.’”

Ultimately, the attack worked to perfection, and Vleuten rode to a dominant win by more than two minutes, with van der Breggen securing a silver medal for the Netherlands for good measure.

Euskadi-Murias on the brink of folding

Basque Pro Continental squad Euskadi-Murias is in dire straits, with no sponsor secured for 2020, according to Basque Country newspaper Deia.

As Deia reports, team manager Jon Odriozola had been optimistic at the end of the Vuelta a España that the team would ride on into next season, with a new backer in place and a deal all but signed. With a UCI deadline for team registration fast approaching, however, the team still has no sponsor committed for next year, leaving the team in danger of folding.

Euskadi-Murias has won stages at each of the past two Vueltas, with Óscar Rodríguez winning stage 13 in 2018 and Mikel Iturria nabbing stage 11 this year.

Hucker wins Tour de Banyuwangi Ijen

Robbie Hucker (UKYO) topped an all-Australian final podium at Indonesia’s Tour de Banyuwangi Ijen, which finished on Sunday in Ijen.

Hucker climbed to the top of the overall standings on the fourth and final stage of the UCI 2.2-rated race, won by Frenchman Thomas Lebas (Kinan). Michael Vink (St. George) secured runner-up honors as Sapura’s Jesse Ewart, who led the race from stage 2, rounded out the final podium in third overall.

Moving Pictures

Thanks to the CyclingTips team on the ground at Worlds, you can take a closer look at a few of the many eye-catching bikes ridden in Saturday’s elite women’s race …