Tadej Pogacar wins Cycling Road World Championships 2024 men’s elite race – as it happened

Here’s William Fotheringham’s report on a historic day in Zurich.

• 1. Pogacar Tadej, Slovenia, 06:27:30

• 2.O’Connor Ben, Australia +34

• 3. van der Poel, Mathieu, Netherlands+ 58

• 4. Skujins, Toms Latvia+ 58

• 5. Evenepoel, Remco, Belgium+ 58

• 6. Hirschi, Marc Switzerland +58

• 7. Healy, Ben, Ireland +01:00

• 8. Mas Enric, Spain +01:01

• 9. Simmons, Quinn USA +02:18

• 10. Bardet, Romain, France +02:18

• 11. Adrià, Roger, Spain +02:18

• 12. Mollema, Bauke Netherlands +02:18

• 13. Pedersen, Mads, Denmark +03:52

Taking to the stage to receive their medals. First Mathieu van der Poel, then silver for Ben O’Connor and then gold and the rainbow jersey to Tadej Pogacar.

Tadej Pogacar speaks: “I cannot believe what just happened. I put a lot of pressure on myself. The race unfolded pretty quick. I maybe did a stupid attack and Jan was with me. We had plans to keep the race under control but he race went quite early. I don’t know what I was thinkimg. After a perfect season it was a really big goal, and I can’t believe it happeend. I’m super proud of my national team. Yeah. Let’s go.”

Pogacar dumps his bike and makes straight for his girlfriend, Urska Zigart. Van der Poel is only too happy to offer his congratulations. Remco Evenepoel, who came fifth, has a big smile too. Everyone knows the best man won that one.

Australia’s Ben O’Connor takes second, having at last dropped the chasing pack. And Van der Poel, last season’s winner, leads them over to take third.

His ride from 100km out has secured a first triple crown since 1987. The rainbow jersey will accompany the yellow from Le Tour and pink from the Giro….

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1km to go: the flamme rouge, just 1000m to history.

2km to go: Healy goes on the attack in search of the silver medal. Next goes Ben O’Connor.

3km to go: Back down to the shoreside and Pogacar knows that only a mechanical or a Devon Loch can stop him.

4km to go: No doubt now, surely. Pogacar has run the finish out of his chasers. And they have taken to turning on each other.

5km to go: A slight incline – and Hirschi puts in one last dig. So does Healy. Remco’s off the back. Healy leads the chase but cannot lose the wheel. Skujins next to have a go., The excitement lies within this group.

8km to go: Panic over? Not in the chasing pack. Van der Poel has decided he wants silver at very least. Evenepoel looks to be done. Pogacar meanwhile uses the descent as hang time. The pack is just too tired after what he took out of them for the 80km between 100km and 20km out.

10km to go: The gap is 450m, dropping down. Are they going to catch him? They might just be, you know. Pogacar takes notice as the neutral car sets off, meaning he is under threat. He holds the gap at 40 seconds. He’s still ripping along at 55km/h but is in danger as he begins a descent. The chasers try to burn each other off, but nobody can get clear. The road is narrowing. The gap goes back out.

15km: Will this chasing group work with each other? It seems unlikely.

16km to go: Enric Mas, the Spaniard, chases down Marc Hirschi, the Swiss. The gap is dropping – it’s 42 – but it’s a big group of favourites behind him. Van der Poel and Evenepoel are chasing, as are Mas and Hirschi. He’s done the hard part, the climb.

20km to go: The final climb, and Pogacar is the best climber of the lot, being roared along by a passionate Swiss crowd. Skujins is putting Healy under, and suddenly Hirschi sets off after the chasers. He gives the home crowd plenty to cheer about. Attacks all over the hill. Healy gets back on Skujins’ wheel, and the gap has dropped 10 seconds after that Skujins attack. A wobble? New hope for the chasers? This ain’t over? Fool if you think it’s over? The gap is 47 seconds. Then 48.

25km to go: Roman Bardet, who will sign off at next year’s Dauphine, is in his last ever world championship. He’s up with the chasing pack, taking his place among his peers.

27km to go: Pogacar has almost 1.5km on his chasers. He’s flying. Healy and Skujins are working together, to stay ahead of their chasers. The time to slit each others’ throats is yet to come.

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30km to go: In other news: Ben Healy of Ireland, who had an excellent Olympics, making that wildcat attack on the Parisian streets, attempting a Pog, is riding himself into a podium position. He’s become well known as a stage racer, the lad who hails from Kingswinford.

36km to go: Red-hot live pics from Helenburgh’s finest. Pogacar is meanwhile happy with his dining options and forging on to the finish. Where’s Roglic? Seems he took a Sunday bike ride.

38km to go: The Slovenian team car makes its ways to their man, looks a little agitated. Has he missed a supply of something? Seems he missed a gel. The hunger knock is one to be feared when you hit the front at 100km.

42km to go: Pogacar has his hand in the air? A mechanical? No, seems he missed a bidon. Is that a cause for concern? Let’s see. Here’s what happened 50 years ago when Eddy Merckx was world champion. Pogacar is much a cannibal than Eddy ever was. Second that year: Raymond Poulidor – the grandfather of Van der Poel. It’s all connected.

45km to go: Pogacar has 50 seconds on Healy and Toms Skujins, with Van der Poel, the defending champion, giving vain chase but fancying a spot on the podium. He has 25 seconds on Evenepoel, who is 90 seconds down. It’s so brutal, breaking the best in the business, bit by bit. History beckons.

50km to go: Two laps to go: Pogacar and Sivakov past what will be the finishing line. Healy leads the chase with plucky Brit Oscar Onley and Toms Skujins of Latvia. Van der Poel and Evenepoel haven’t found the form to blow the others away. Evenepoel is asking for more help from the other chasers. But he’s not got the form. And up ahead, Pogacar drops Sivakov, the Frenchman unable to hold his wheel.

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58km to go: Joe gets in touch: “This is completely suicidal stuff from any other cyclist. But not Pog. Would not surprise me to see him be reeled in by the peloton, and he just drops them all again on the climb. Monster.”

60km to go: Here we go then, it’s Pogacar and Sivakov, with Evenepoel, Van der Poel and Hirschi giving chase, in a group including Ireland’s Ben Healy. The gap is 40 seconds, and nobody is really working with each other beyond the two leaders. Jai Hindley, the Australian, is up there. Decimation from Pogacar.

70km to go: Evenepoel is up there, Nelson Powless, the American forges off alone, too. But Pogacar has created havoc and panic, almost certainly by design. He’s taking more seconds off the chasers, and suddenly Remco has had enough, and he goes off. Attack after attack, but the gap is 40 seconds between Pogacar and Sivakov ahead of the chasers. Each surviving nation appears to be having a dig. But Pogacar reigns supreme. Only Evenepoel looks capable of stopping him.

75km to go: They zip around the shoreline, and approach the climb. Tratnik is asked to up his output. Tratnik is dropped as soon as Pogacar goes off the front. Sivakov is looking strong. The front group otherwise reduced to stragglers, and that includes Sivakov who is dropped.

80km to go: In the peloton, Evenepoel, Van der Poel and a recovered Hirschi are all ready to swoop. Up in the lead group, Pavel Sivakov, who is in Pogacar’s UEA Team Emirates, is handily place. Three laps left in the race now.

85km to go: The Belgians giving chase but the gap is 53 seconds, around 600m of road.

90km to go: Pogacar and Tratnik ease into the leading group and go to the front, and as they reach a descent, he flies off at the front. The Belgian riders have pulled the the gap back to under a minute, to add a further plot twist. It may be that Pog is well clear by the time they catch up.

95km to go: Andrea Bagioli, the Italian cyclist, tried to go with Pogacar, but no luck. He was burned off, and Pogacar catches up with teamamate Tratnik, who had been up in those groups, and he will use his man as a windshield. He’s only 0.5km down on the leaders.

97 km to go: William Preston gets in touch: “When I was younger, I didn’t think much of the world championship road race. Coming from a mountain bike background, with those races being mostly a solitary endeavour, it seemed odd that the road side of the sport that focuses so much nowadays on having one team built around one rider mixes it up so much for one all or nothing tilt at the rainbow jersey.

“And then I realized the majesty of a a team thrown together, having to put contractual differences aside to get a stomp on and propel their rider first over the line. The thrilling heroics of it all hasn’t disappointed me since. It’s a wonderful thing. It’s way better than the Olympic road race, too, as it’s every year.”

Pogacar seems willing to pull the race along with him. Who needs teammates?

The Slovenians are pushing to lower the gap, and it’s dropping down to two minutes. They used a steep hill to take that gap down. If Pogacar and Roglic are present and correct, then Van der Poel is there. Where is Remco Evenepoel? Counterattacks aplenty. The gap is 1’30”, and Pogacar, in the lime green has gone to the front. He fancies it from this distance.