Shock winner in men's world road race

Few would claim the adjustments made this tough race, the kind you would expect duringthe early spring classics, any easier. With the rain battering down, an 11-man break featuring three grand tour winners – Richard Carapaz (Ecuador), Nairo Quintana (Colombia) and Primoz Roglic (Slovenia) – went off up the road almost straight from the flag, gaining over 4min 30sec on the peloton. Just days after regaining his world time trial title, Rohan Dennis appeared happy enough to get off, the Australian smiling and laughing with team staff. The Belgian, who arrived as one of the pre-race favourites, suffered a nasty fall during the first lap after a touch of wheel led to the classics hardman crashing into the barriers. With his team leader in trouble, the 19-year-old Remco Evenepoel showed a maturity beyond his years as he comforted the old master, remaining calm amid the chaos. The pair attacked, though were shortly reined beck in by Pedersen before Mike Teunissen (Holland) and Gianni Moscon (Italy) bridgedover. Britain's best cyclists (Grid) Van der Poel was the next to power over, showing why the Dutchman was one of the most feared riders going into the race.