Race Report: Kevin Ledanois took a spectacular opportunistic victory in the U23 World Championship road race, narrowly beating fast closing Italian Simone Consonni after rain, cobbles, crashes and Libby Hill added to a great day of racing.It was a slow boiler but thanks to some rain and cobbles it was a spectacular finish to the U23 World Champs. Jose Luis Rodriguez (Chile), Eddie Dunbar (Ireland), Davide Martinelli (Italy) and Max Schachmann (Germany) put in a concerted breakaway effort on the heavy Richmond circuit but they were brought back with 2 laps to go to set up a sensational finish. The marquee climb on the course, Libby Hill, killed the hopes of many riders as a crash on the wet cobbles brought down a large group of riders. Ledanois charged over the top and elbowed his way past Italy’s Davide Martinelli to storm to a 10 second lead into the final kilometre. The win looked like a lock, but a late charge by the Italian Simone Consonni forced a nail-biting finale.Libby Hill proved a formidable obstacle with it’s steep pitches, but got even worse when the rain and fatigue set in for the finale.RouteThe U23 men faced 10 laps of the 16.2km circuit – predominantly flat with 3 short steep climbs, including the cobbled Libby Hill, all in the final 4km of the circuit. It didn’t look particularly challenging on the profile but after 10 laps and more than 1000m of elevation there was a huge amount of suffering. The wide...
View the full article
View the full article
