Mohoric beats older riders to win world Under-23 title
FLORENCE (Italy): Matej Mohoric of Slovenia used a late attack to win the men’s Under-23 race at the Road Cycling World Championships on Friday, beating a field with many older riders.
The 18-year-old Mohoric broke free of the pack on a dangerous downhillstretchandthenattacked again on a climb to clock four hours, 20 minutes, and 18 seconds over the 173km route from Montecatini Terme to Florence.
Louis Meint Jes of South Africa finished second, three seconds behind, and Sondre Enger of Norway was third, 13 seconds back.
Amalie Dideriksen of Denmark won the junior women’s race, clocking two hours, 32 minutes, and 23 seconds over an 83km race that began and ended in Florence.
Anastasia Iakovenko of Russia finished with second with the same time in a sprint finish and Olena Demydova of Ukraine was third, three seconds behind.
The medallists were all part of a long breakaway.
“I didn’t think I would manage to get into a breakaway from the beginning, this wasn’t the plan,” Dideriksen said. “But once we were there, we helped each other to the end. In Denmark, we don’t have any climbs as tough as Via Salviati. I had to work hard to keep the pace but I managed not to get caught.” The sprint proved decisive. “My coach told me to wait until the last moment to start, and I listened to him,” Dideriksen said. “I often run on track, and this helped me a lot.” — AP