September 27, 2009 (Mendrisio Switzerland) – The Elite men’s road race is just getting underway with a mix of sun and cloud and 19 degree temperatures greeting the 200+ riders. The men will contest 19 laps of the 13.8km circuit for a total of 262.2km with 4,655m of elevation. Canada has 3 riders on the start line including Ryder Hesjedal (BC), Michael Barry (ON) and Svein Tuft (BC). Read our post-Vuelta pre-Worlds interview with Hesjedal and post-Missouri pre-Worlds interview with Barry here – complete start list here.

For an audio interview with winner Cadel Evans, the first Australian to win the elite men’s road race at the Road Worlds courtesy of Cycling Australia, click here.

Laps 1-2
Following an easy start a group of 5-6 riders are off the front including Germany’s Andre Greipel. Along with multi-Vuelta stage winner Greipel are Japan’s Yukiya Arashiro, Jan Barta (Cze), Croatia’s Matija Kvasina, Christoph Sokoll (Aut) and Peter Kusztor (Hungary)… peloton is almost at 1:30 with some stragglers in between.

Lap 3
The group of six (a bit early for us this morning – we were right the first time it’s 6 not 5 in the break) continue out front and now the chase group at 45s is 3-strong and looks like a fourth rider will soon join them as the peloton is at 1:25 – we’re on the look out for the Canadian riders to see where they are in the pack.

Lap 4
Now on lap 4 the break has extended its lead to 4 min. on the peloton with the four chasers at 2 min.

Italy’s former double Road Worlds champ Paolo Bettini is on site as is former Belgian star Frank Vandenbroucke who fell from grace with drug and other problems.

The chasers have bridged to the leaders now 10-strong with 5:45 on the peloton.

Lap 5
The 10 leaders keep extending their gap over the peloton now at 6:30 with 14 laps to go as the race is 25% completed. The pack seems content to let the break go – latest report is that the gap is approaching 8 min.

Hesjedal, Barry and Tuft are sitting comfortably near the end of the pack.

Lap 6
It’s a beautiful sunny day in Mendrisio – perfect weather for the championships – and it’s warmed up a bit now 22 degrees. The gap has ballooned to 9:20.

Barry is off the back of the pack with the caravan following and it’s not clear if he’s having a problem.

Lap 7
There’s activity in the pack now as the leaders hit a gap lead of 10:20. The field is starting to get strung out as the pace quickens and it looks like the teams are now deciding on what to do next.

Lap 8
Spain’s Ruben Plaza Molina is at the front of the peloton a the pace continues to rise behind – the break is now at 9min. We see Hesjedal and Tuft in the group but not Barry.

The small city of Mendrisio is only 20km from last year’s Road Worlds site in Varese, Italy where Alessandro Ballan won the rainbow jersey in the men’s road race and Canada’s Tuft won silver in the ITT.

Lap 9
Through lap nine the pack keeps chipping away at the leaders and the gap keeps dropping. As the lap comes to an end the break is at 7:15 as Ivan Basso (Ita) is leading the pack and we found Barry – he’s near the front of the peloton in about 15th (not 5th) while Hesjedal and Tuft are still near the back.

Lap 10
The gap continues to drop now at 7 min. and shrinking as the energy behind in the pack picks up as the race is over the half way point.

Lap 11
The riders are finishing the 11th lap and the break is now at 6 min. as the peloton starts to come together again. Apparently Barry has dropped back to Hesjedal near the back of the pack while Tuft is off the back.

Recapping the initial break of Greipel (Ger), Arashiro (Jap), Kvasina (Cro), Sokoll (Aut), Kusztor (Hun), Barta (Cze) was joined in lap 4 by Volodymyr Zagorodny (Ukr), Gorazd Stangelj (Slo), Mauricio Ardila (Col) and Olegs Melehs (Lat) and the 10 riders have a 6 min. lead.

Lap 12
With just over 100km left in the race Latvia’s Melehs has dropped off and is 1 min behind the leaders so the break is down to 9 riders. Barry has moved up to the middle of the pack.

Lap 13
The leaders have come thru and are on the 13th lap of 19. Marzio Bruzhegin (Ita) is leading the charge as the peloton continues to eat up time and the gap is now down to 5:40. Riders are being shed off the back. We saw Barry and Tuft but not Hesjedal the last time through.

A small chase group has formed off the front of the pack with the Italians being proactive including defending champ Alessandro Ballan, Giovanni Visconti and Michele Scarponi from Italy, Spain’s Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver, plus a Belgium and Dutch rider we think – they catch and pass Melehs.

Lap 14
The 9 leaders are being chased down by a group of 7-8 riders who are at 1 min and attacking on the Aqua Fresca first climb. A third chase group of about 18-20 riders is behind at 3:40 followed by the pack at 5 min. We didn’t see which group Barry’s in but saw Tuft near the end of the last group – we think Hesjedal is out.

The lead chase group includes Michael Albasini (Sui) and Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) – we’re trying to get the others. Hesjedal in confirmed DNF.

The two chase groups are now together with about 22 riders – we must have gotten the wrong time gap on chase group 1 before – now at 3 min from the leaders who are down to 8 riders as the Columbian Ardila has dropped off. The main group is at 4:30 – we did not see where Barry is but saw Tuft near the back of the main group.

Lap 15
It’s 5 to go as the 8 leaders begin the 15th lap with 1:48 on a big chase group of 22-25 riders now with lots of heavy hitters and the Italians driving the pace. The main pack is a further 1:20 behind so 3:10 behind the leaders and Canada’s Barry is in this group with Tuft near the back. Just under 70km left to go in the race.

Other strong riders in the chase group include Spain’s Juan Jose Cobo Acebo, Kim Kirchen (Lux) and Michael Rogers (Aus) with just over 1 hour of riding still to go.

Both the lead chase group and the peloton are making gains with the Aussie’s pushing the pace in the main pack so it all could come together at the end.

Lap 16
The 8 leaders come through with a 33s lead on the chase group closing in on them. The main pack with Canada’s Barry in the middle and Tuft at the end is only 1:13 behind as both groups make ground on the leaders.

With 50km to go the chase group has caught the leaders as the main pack is under a minute back.

Lap 17
Only three laps to go as they come thru but the peloton seems to have lost it’s surge forward now at 2 min from the leaders.

The attacks begin up the climb – Ballan the defending champ and another rider have 20s. The peloton is not moving as the Belgians control things and some of the big names are now caught in limbo such as Cunego, Cancellara and Evans.

Lap 17
Only three laps to go as they come thru but the peloton seems to have lost it’s surge forward now at 2 min from the leaders.

The attacks begin up the climb – Ballan the defending champ and another rider have 20s. The peloton is not moving as the Belgians control things and some of the big names are now caught in limbo such as Cunego, Cancellara and Evans.

It’s attack and counter attack as things come together and Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) and Duque get clear on the second climb. They’re caught and Slovenia’s Stangelj gets away but he’s also reeled in.

Lap 18
There are 19 riders leading as they come thru with 2 to go with Spain’s Rodríguez, Christophe Riblon (Fra) and 2 others at the front as the peloton comes alive again now at 1:30.

Now Cancellara attacks from behind and has bridged to the leaders. The attacks are coming fast and furious through the penultimate lap as riders know the time is now.

Lap 19 Final
The riders are on the final lap with Italy leading the charge with Netherlands, Spain up front as well – Ballan is 20s back – Canada’s Barry is in the third group at about ??.

Basso, Cunego, Cancellara, Evans and other big names are all there as the group is coming together for the final assault.

Vinoukorov (Kaz) and Andy Schleck (Lux) are now at the front as the attacks continue. They’re caught and Kolobnev from Russia goes.

Now Cancellara attacks with others and they catch Kolobnev – Gilbert is also there with about 10 riders… Cancellara attacks again with about 10km to go.

Now it’s Kolobnev with Evans countering and Evans gets clear… Rodriquez is in 2nd and Kolobnev is 3rd. The finish is approaching – can Evans hold on?

Results

1. Cadel Evans (Australia) 6:56:26
2. Alexandr Kolobnev (Russian Federation) 0:27
3. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spain)
4. Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spain) 0:30
5. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)
6. Philippe Gilbert (Belgium) 0:51
7. Matti Breschel (Denmark)
8. Damiano Cunego (Italy)
9. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spain)
10. Simon Gerrans (Australia) 1:47
11. Fabian Wegmann (Germany)
12. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Norway)
13. Chris Sörensen (Denmark) 1:59
14. Johnny Hoogerland (Netherlands) 2:02
15. Oscar Freire Gomez (Spain)
16. Ivan Basso (Italy)
17. Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Portugal) 2:44
18. Michael Barry (Canada)
19. Serguei Ivanov (Russian Federation)
20. Karsten Kroon (Netherlands) 0:02:50
21. Filippo Pozzato (Italy)
22. Leonardo Fabio Duque (Colombia)
23. Koos Moerenhout (Netherlands)
24. Sylvester Szmyd (Poland)
25. Kevin De Weert (Belgium)
26. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan)
27. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus)
28. Oliver Zaugg (Switzerland)
29. Sylvain Chavanel (France)
30. Ignatas Konovalovas (Lithuania)
31. Alexandre Botcharov (Russian Federation)
32. Tadej Valjavec (Slovenia)
33. Thomas Lövkvist (Sweden)
34. Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Portugal)
35. Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia)
36. Robert Gesink (Netherlands) 3:01
37. Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Colombia) 3:21
38. Tom Boonen (Belgium)
39. Bert De Waele (Belgium)
40. Philip Deignan (Ireland)
41. Alessandro Ballan (Italy)
42. Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spain)
43. Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) 3:45
44. Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium)
45. Kim Kirchen (Luxembourg) 4:20
46. Pierrick Fedrigo (France) 4:29
47. Marcus Ljungqvist (Sweden) 5:20
48. Gorazd Stangelj (Slovenia)
49. Jussi Veikkanen (Finland)
50. José Rujano Guillen (Venezuela)
51. Eduard Vorganov (Russian Federation)
52. Steven Cummings (Great Britain)
53. Andriy Grivko (Ukraine)
54. Kristjan Fajt (Slovenia)
55. Murilo Antonio Fischer (Brazil)
56. Kanstantin Siutsou (Belarus)
57. Fumiyuki Beppu (Japan)
58. Assan Bazayev (Kazakhstan)
59. Craig Lewis (United States Of America)
60. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway)
61. Christophe Riblon (France)
62. Przemyslaw Niemiec (Poland)
63. Nick Nuyens (Belgium)
64. Matthew Lloyd (Australia) 0:06:07
65. Luca Paolini (Italy) 0:07:43
66. Dmitriy Fofonov (Kazakhstan)
67. Thomas Voeckler (France)
68. Daniel Martin (Ireland) 0:08:22
69. Rui Alberto Rui Costa (Portugal)
70. Vladimir Miholjevic (Croatia) 0:10:54
71. Stefano Garzelli (Italy)
72. Oleksandr Kvachuk (Ukraine)
73. Bartosz Huzarski (Poland)
74. Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Colombia)
75. Carlos José Ochoa (Venezuela)
76. Hrvoje Miholjevic (Croatia)
77. Aleksejs Saramotins (Latvia)
78. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Sweden)
79. Grischa Niermann (Germany)
79. Timothy Duggan (United States Of America)
81. Stian Remme (Norway)
82. Michael Albasini (Switzerland)
83. Franklin Chacon Colmenares (Venezuela)
84. René Mandri (Estonia)
85. Pavel Brutt (Russian Federation)
86. Michal Golas (Poland)
87. Gabriel Rasch (Norway)
88. Maarten Wynants (Belgium)
89. Maxime Monfort (Belgium)
90. Martin Velits (Slovakia)
91. Lars Boom (Netherlands)
92. Roger Hammond (Great Britain)
93. Christophe Le Mevel (France)
94. Thomas Peterson (United States Of America)
95. Dimitri Champion (France)
96. Hayden Roulston (New Zealand)
97. Maxim Iglinsky (Kazakhstan)
98. Mccartney Jason (United States Of America)
99. Johannes Fröhlinger (Germany)
100. Peter Velits (Slovakia)
101. Rigoberto Uran Uran (Colombia)
102. Gerhard Trampusch (Austria) 14:03
103. Paul Martens (Germany)
104. Volodymyr Zagorodny (Ukraine)
105. Vladimir Karpets (Russian Federation)
106. Jan Barta (Czech Republic)
107. Michael Rogers (Australia)
108. Juan Carlos Lopez Marin (Colombia)
DNF Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spain)
DNF Thomas Danielson (United States Of America)
DNF Tony Martin (Germany)
DNF Marzio Bruseghin (Italy)
DNF Serhiy Honchar (Ukraine)
DNF Jacek Morajko (Poland)
DNF Juan Manuel Garate Cepa (Spain)
DNF Jackson Rodriguez (Venezuela)
DNF Sebastian Langeveld (Netherlands)
DNF Peter Kusztor (Hungary)
DNF Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Belarus)
DNF Christian Knees (Germany)
DNF Francis De Greef (Belgium)
DNF Manuel Eduardo Medina Marino (Venezuela)
DNF Giovanni Visconti (Italy)
DNF Rubens Bertogliati (Switzerland)
DNF Michele Scarponi (Italy)
DNF Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spain)
DNF Ruben Plaza Molina (Spain)
DNF Anders Lund (Denmark)
DNF Christopher Froome (Great Britain)
DNF Tyler Farrar (United States Of America)
DNF Frank Hoj (Denmark)
DNF Maciej Paterski (Poland)
DNF Andrew Bajadali (United States Of America)
DNF Svein Tuft (Canada)
DNF Roman Kreuziger (Czech Republic)
DNF Daniel Lloyd (Great Britain)
DNF Grega Bole (Slovenia)
DNF Wesley Sulzberger (Australia)
DNF Volodymyr Starchyk (Ukraine)
DNF Yukiya Arashiro (Japan)
DNF Ben Swift (Great Britain)
DNF André Greipel (Germany)
DNF Mauricio Ardila Cano (Colombia)
DNF Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uruguay)
DNF Geraint Thomas (Great Britain)
DNF Lars Ytting Bak (Denmark)
DNF Matija Kvasina (Croatia)
DNF Thor Hushovd (Norway)
DNF Laurent Didier (Luxembourg)
DNF Guama Byron (Ecuador)
DNF Andrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan)
DNF Stuart O`Grady (Australia)
DNF David Millar (Great Britain)
DNF Mathew Hayman (Australia)
DNF Simon Clarke (Australia)
DNF Janek Tombak (Estonia)
DNF Brent Bookwalter (United States Of America)
DNF Andrey Amador Bikkazakova (Costa Rica)
DNF Roy Hegreberg (Norway)
DNF Martin Mares (Czech Republic)
DNF Rein Taaramae (Estonia)
DNF Freddy Vargas (Venezuela)
DNF Evgeny Popov (Russian Federation)
DNF Mathias Frank (Switzerland)
DNF Tiago Fiorilli (Brazil)
DNF Nicolas Roche (Ireland)
DNF Christoph Sokoll (Austria)
DNF Taiji Nishitani (Japan)
DNF Dan Craven (Namibia)
DNF Borut Bozic (Slovenia)
DNF Magno Prado Nazaret (Brazil)
DNF Guennadi Mikhailov (Russian Federation)
DNF Grégory Rast (Switzerland)
DNF Timothy Gudsell (New Zealand)
DNF Jan Valach (Slovakia)
DNF Jay Robert Thomson (South Africa)
DNF Frederik Wilman (Norway)
DNF Jeremy Vennell (New Zealand)
DNF Olegs Melehs (Latvia)
DNF Alexander Porsev (Russian Federation)
DNF Jean-Pierre Drucker (Luxembourg)
DNF Nebojsa Jovanovic (Serbia)
DNF Ian Stannard (Great Britain)
DNF Andy Schleck (Luxembourg)
DNF Martin Garrido Mayorga (Argentina)
DNF Ryder Hesjedal (Canada)
DNF Marcel Sieberg (Germany)
DNF Gerald Ciolek (Germany)
DNF Matias Medici (Argentina)
DNF Russell Downing (Great Britain)
DNF Haavard Nybö (Norway)
DNF Istvan Cziraki (Hungary)
DNF Lars Petter Nordhaug (Norway)
DNF Valentin Iglinskiy (Kazakhstan)
DNF Alfredo Orlando Lucero (Argentina)
DNF Allan Davis (Australia)
DNF Zolt Der (Serbia)
DNF Gergely Ivanics (Hungary)
DNF Esad Hasanovic (Serbia)
DNF Carlos Ivan Oyarzun Guiñez (Chile)
DNF Ruslan Pydgornyy (Ukraine)
DNF Peter Wrolich (Austria)