Evergreen Alejandro Valverde triumphs in World Road Championships

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• Spaniard outsprinted Bardet, Dumoulin and Woods in road race
• Valverde had previously won two silver and four bronze medals

It was a fitting soundtrack to the denouement of an epic day of racing. As a select group of riders ascended the Höttinger Höll climb – with a fearsome maximum gradient of 28% – the organisers of the 2018 UCI Road World Championships blared AC/DC’s Highway to Hell throughout Innsbruck. Almost seven hours after the men’s road race began on Sunday, just a handful of contenders remained.

Ultimately it would be the veteran Alejandro Valverde who found heaven. The Spaniard has contested the world championships 11 times since 2003. Twice he had secured silver medals, four times he claimed bronze. On his 12th attempt, the 38-year-old earned the illustrious rainbow stripes. Valverde outsprinted France’s Romain Bardet, the Canadian Michael Woods and Dutchman Tom Dumoulin into Innsbruck. The Spaniard’s screams of celebration said it all. Finally – Valverde was world champion.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Ir2bsn

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