2012 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race

The Men's Individual Road Race of the 2012 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 23 September in the province of Limburg, Netherlands.

Men's Individual Road Race
2012 UCI Road World Championships
Philippe Gilbert sprinting to victory
Race details
Dates23 September 2012
Stages1
Distance269 km (167.1 mi)
Winning time6h 10' 41"[1]
Medalists
   Gold  Philippe Gilbert (Belgium)
   Silver  Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway)
   Bronze  Alejandro Valverde (Spain)

The race was won by Belgium's Philippe Gilbert, after he made a late attack on the final ascent of the Cauberg climb and advanced clear of the rest of the field to win his first world title and the first by a Belgian since Tom Boonen won in Madrid in 2005.[2][3] He finished four seconds clear of Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen, who claimed the silver medal,[4] while the bronze medal went to Spain's Alejandro Valverde, who finished a second further behind.[5] When the announcement was made of the course, Gilbert was the instant favourite and rode all year with this pressure. Leading into the worlds he had won only two races all season.

Route

The race started in Maastricht and ended in Valkenburg. The first 108 kilometres (67 mi) was contested through a number of Limburg cities before the riders entered a 16.1 kilometres (10.0 mi) circuit to be completed on ten occasions. The finish was 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) beyond the summit of the Cauberg hill in Valkenburg – where the Amstel Gold Race had finished from 2003 to 2013, and hosted the finish of stage 3 of the 2006 Tour de France – a 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long climb with a maximum gradient of 12%.[6]

Final classification

Of the race's 207 entrants, 122 riders completed the full distance of 269 km (167.1 mi).[1]

References

  1. "Final Results / Résultats finaux: Men's Road Race / Course en ligne – Hommes" (PDF). Sport Result. Tissot Timing. 23 September 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  2. "The new World Champion in cycling is... a Belgian!". De Redactie. Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  3. Scrivener, Peter (23 September 2012). "Belgium's Philippe Gilbert wins world road race title". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  4. Benson, Daniel (23 September 2012). "Gilbert wins world championship in Valkenburg". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  5. Atkins, Ben (23 September 2012). "Philippe Gilbert solos to World road race championship". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  6. "UCI Road World Championships: Courses". Limburg 2012. Colofon. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
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