CYCLING STAR TADEJ POGACAR WINS MEN'S ROAD RACE AT WORLDS

Tadej Pogačar continued his dominant 2024 by winning the men's road race at the world championships Sunday. AP Photo/Peter Dejong

ZURICH -- Tadej Pogačar cemented his status as cycling's biggest star with a devastating solo attack to win the men's road race at the world championships Sunday.

The three-time Tour de France champion surged ahead just over 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the end. The 26-year-old Slovenian appeared to be in tears after crossing the line in Zurich, putting his hand on his mouth then covering his face with both hands before pumping his arms in the air.

He crossed the line 34 seconds ahead of Australian Ben O'Connor and 58 clear of defending champion Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands, who finished third in a sprint to the line ahead of Latvian Toms Skujins and Belgian contender Remco Evenepoel in fifth place.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself for today. The race unfolded pretty quickly," Pogačar said. "I never gave up. It was an incredible day. I cannot believe what just happened."

Pogačar achieved the rare treble of winning the worlds, the Tour and the Giro d'Italia in the same year. He also won the prestigious Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic and the Strade Bianche, both with similar solo attacks.

"After many years fighting for the Tour de France and other races, I never had the world championship as a clear goal, but this year everything went smoothly," Pogačar said. "After the perfect season, it was a really big goal to win the world championship, and I can't believe it happened."

On Sunday, he had a prestigious teammate on the road: Primož Roglič, the record-equaling four-time Spanish Vuelta champion.

But he didn't need him, and it was Pavel Sivakov of France who joined Pogačar as he made a breakaway 100 kilometers (62 miles) out.

"I don't know what I was thinking," Pogačar said. "But I went with the flow, and luckily I made it."

The peloton, led by a determined Van der Poel, tried to counter them with about 70 kilometers left.

The front two maintained their lead of around 40 seconds, with Van der Poel now joined by Evenepoel, the 2022 world champion and reigning Olympic champion. But Evenepoel, who won last weekend's time trial, had no teammates with him.

After Pogačar dropped Sivakov, he rolled through the countryside leading to Zurich and the title after finishing third last year.

He completed the 274-kilometer (170-mile) route, which started from Winterthur and had elevation gains of 4,470 meters, in 6 hours, 27 minutes, 30 seconds.

Two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe of France went out of the race early on. The Soudal Quick-Step rider was caught in a crash and hurt his left shoulder.

- Associated Press

CLASSIFICATIONS VUELTA A ESPAÑA 2024 | JERSEY ARE (ALMOST CERTAINLY) DIVIDED, HERE ARE ALL THE DIFFERENCES

The Vuelta a España - the third and final grand tour of the year - competes for four jerseys: red for the overall winner, green for the points classification, the polka dot jersey for the king of the mountains, and white for the best young rider in the classification. The best team will also be rewarded on the final day in Madrid. IDLProCycling.com keeps track of the ranking in the various classifications for you.

Red jersey: overall classification Vuelta a España 2024

1. Primoz Roglic

2. Ben O'Connor + 2.02

3. Enric Mas + 2.11

4. Richard Carapaz + 3.00

5. David Gaudu + 4.48

6. Mattias Skjelmose +5.18

7. Florian Lipowitz + 6.26

8. Mikel Landa + 6.57

9. Pavel Sivakov + 8.50

10. Carlos Rodriguez + 10.31

11. Eddie Dunbar + 13.15

12. Adam Yates + 14.06

13. Sepp Kuss + 17.49

14. Cristian Rodriguez + 18.24

15. Guillaume Martin + 28.50

16. Lorenzo Fortunato + 37.28

17. José Felix Parra + 48.14

18. Aleksandr Vlasov + 53.22

19. Steven Kruijswijk + 59.39

20. Clément Berthet + 1:01:57

Green jersey: points classification Vuelta a España 2024

1. Kaden Groves - 226 points

2. Primoz Roglic - 123

3. Max Poole - 118

4. Pablo Castrillo - 117

5. Pavel Bittner - 106

6. Enric Mas - 102

7. Mathias Vacek - 100

8. Marc Soler - 98

9. Harold Tejada - 95

10. Urko Berrada - 89

Polka dot jersey: mountain classification Vuelta a España 2024

1. Jay Vine - 78 punten

2. Marc Soler - 76

3. Pablo Castrillo - 43

4. Primoz Roglic - 32

5. Marco Frigo - 32

6. Enric Mas - 28

7. Filippo Zana - 27

8. Pavel Sivakov - 26

9. Aleksandr Vlasov - 25

10. David Gaudu - 24

White jersey: youth classification Vuelta a España 2024

1. Mattias Skjelmose

2. Florian Lipowitz + 1.08

3. Carlos Rodriguez + 5.13

Team classification Vuelta a España 2024

1. UAE Team Emirates

2. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 34.20

3. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale + 1.21.54

- Bram van der Ploeg

POGACAR REIGNS SUPREME ON CHAOTIC DAY AT WEATHER-HIT GIRO

Getty

 Tadej Pogacar provided some normality on a day of anger and chaos at the Giro d'Italia by riding away from his rivals to win a weather-hit stage 16 on Tuesday and further extend his massive lead in the general classification.

The Slovenian made light of torrential rain to solo to the summit finish at the ski resort of Val Gardena, counting to five with his right hand to celebrate his fifth stage win at this year's race as he crossed the line.

Giro debutant Pogacar now leads the standings by more than seven minutes and, barring misfortune in the next few days, looks assured of reaching Rome with the maglia rosa on his back.

Giulio Pellizzari, the last of a breakaway group to keep Pogacar at bay, was second at 16 seconds while Dani Martinez, third, moved above Geraint Thomas into second overall.

The day began in confusion as freezing rain in the South Tyrol mountains meant the stage did not start from Livigno and was reduced in length to 121km.

Deteriorating conditions with snow at altitude prompted riders to vote on skipping the 2,500-metre Umbrail Pass and a treacherous descent, citing safety issues.

However, Giro organisers said riders had failed to show up at the start in Livigno despite having agreed to.

"The Extreme Weather Protocol Commission met yesterday to decide on the conditions for today's stage," organisers RCS said in a statement. "On today's meeting, an agreement was reached on (starting) the race from Livigno with a town parade.

"Despite a handshake between the parties, the athletes did not show up at the start in Livigno."

Riders had a different view, however, with Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), calling organisers "dinosaurs".

"It's probably one of the worst organised races I think and I'm just being honest. This would never happen in 99% of other situations," O'Connor told Eurosport.

"It's just a shame that it is 2024 and you have dinosaurs who really don't see the human side of things."

TOUGH CLIMBS

The shortened stage, which still features two very tough climbs, began in heavy rain and Frenchman Julian Alaphillipe launched an audacious early attack and was still on his own as he crested the Passo Pinei after a 23.3km slog in the wet.

But he could not hang on and was caught by a chase group on the Monte Pana which ramped up steeply near the finish.

Italian Pellizzari (VF Group–Bardiani–CSF–Faizane) then tried his luck but by that time Rafal Majka had accelerated the group containing his UAE Emirates team mate Pogacar, allowing the Slovenian to put on another masterclass.

Once Pogacar went clear there was no doubt about the outcome while behind him Thomas, who had been second overall, lost time.

"The day started on and off and we didn't know what to do," Pogacar told Eurosport. "But when we started racing it was fine.

"All the bunch was thinking just to be safe today."

Pogacar, who has 12 wins this season from 26 race days, now leads Colombia's Dani Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe) by seven minutes 18 seconds with Welshman Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) 07:40 back.

The day will be best remembered, however, for the chaotic start. Giro d'Italia director Mauro Vegni said organisers had listened to the riders concerns.

"The mountains are like this, sometimes you have to face certain situations," he told Rai. "We tried to provide additional safety measures for the riders but we agreed that if the conditions worsened we would avoid the Umbrail Pass.

"That's what happened. Obviously, if you ask the riders if they like riding in rain and snow, they'll say no."

- Reuters