INNSBRUCK, Austria — For the seventh time in his career, Alejandro Valverde stepped onto the podium after the men's road race at the world championships on Sunday.

But for the first time he received the gold medal.

The Spanish rider sprinted to his first world title after a grueling, mountainous race of 6 hours, 46 minutes through the Austrian Alps, including a final climb with a maximum gradient of 28 per cent.

Valverde led a group of four in the final kilometre, and he just remained ahead in the sprint, with Romain Bardet of France taking the silver. Michael Woods, the first Canadian in the top three since Steve Bauer in 1984, won the bronze, while Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands placed fourth.

The victory came 15 years after Valverde won silver in Hamilton, a feat he repeated in 2005 in Madrid. He also came third four times, in 2006 and three years in a row from 2012-14.

"This is the greatest day of my career. It means everything to me to take this victory," the 38-year-old Valverde said through an interpreter.

He became the first Spanish world champion since Oscar Freire won the title in 2004.

Valverde, who served a doping suspension earlier in his career, has won stages in all Grand Tours and was the overall winner of the Vuelta in 2009. Sunday's title came a year after he suffered a fractured kneecap in a fall in the Tour de France, forcing him to end his 2017 season prematurely.

Valverde positioned himself for the win when he went ahead of the pack together with Bardet and Woods, a 31-year-old from Ottawa, for the final five kilometres. While the trio built a lead of a half-minute, Dumoulin managed to catch up for the last 1,500 metres.

However, the Dutchman lacked the power to attack again, and Valverde held off challenges by Bardet and Woods to cross the line first. </s> Spain's Alejandro Valverde sprints to road race world title Spain's Alejandro Valverde crosses the finish line to win the men's road race at the Road Cycling World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, Sunday, Sept.30, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) -- Alejandro Valverde sprinted to gold in the men's road race at the world championships on Sunday.

The Spanish rider was the fastest of a leading group of four, with Romain Bardet of France taking the silver and Michael Woods of Canada the bronze, while Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands placed fourth.

It was Valverde's first world title, after finishing runner-up in 2003 and 2005 and coming third four times.

Defending champion Peter Sagan had his three-year winning streak snapped when he quit the race with 90 kilometers left. The Slovakian sprint specialist struggled on the 258-kilometer course, which included 4,681 meters of climbing and was regarded as one of the toughest world championship courses in decades. </s> INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) — For the seventh time in his career, Alejandro Valverde stepped onto the podium after the men's road race at the world championships on Sunday.

But for the first time he received the gold medal.

The Spanish rider sprinted to his first world title after a grueling, mountainous race of 6 hours, 46 minutes through the Austrian Alps, including a final climb with a maximum gradient of 28 percent.

Valverde led a group of four in the final kilometer, and he just remained ahead in the sprint, with Romain Bardet of France taking the silver. Michael Woods, the first Canadian in the top three since Steve Bauer in 1984, won the bronze, while Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands placed fourth.

The victory came 15 years after Valverde won silver in Hamilton, Canada, a feat he repeated in 2005 in Madrid. He also came third four times, in 2006 and three years in a row from 2012-14.

"This is the greatest day of my career. It means everything to me to take this victory," the 38-year-old Valverde said through an interpreter.

He became the first Spanish world champion since Oscar Freire won the title in 2004.

Valverde, who served a doping suspension earlier in his career, has won stages in all Grand Tours and was the overall winner of the Vuelta in 2009. Sunday's title came a year after he suffered a fractured kneecap in a fall in the Tour de France, forcing him to end his 2017 season prematurely.

Valverde positioned himself for the win when he went ahead of the pack together with Bardet and Woods for the final five kilometers. While the trio built a lead of a half-minute, Dumoulin managed to catch up for the last 1,500 meters.

However, the Dutchman lacked the power to attack again, and Valverde held off challenges by Bardet and Woods to cross the line first.

Peter Sagan had his three-year winning streak snapped when he quit the race with 90 kilometers left. The Slovakian sprint specialist struggled on the 258-kilometer course, which included 4,681 meters of climbing and was regarded as one of the toughest world championship courses in decades.

Many of the pre-race favorites had problems, while Warren Barguil of France and Primoz Roglic of Slovenia were among the contenders slowed by crashes.

A group of 11 riders broke away in the opening kilometers, and as there were no title favorites among them, the peloton wasn't bothered about chasing them for most of the race.

The group was allowed to build a lead of up to 19 minutes, but was gradually reduced as more and more riders couldn't keep up with its pace.

It left Kasper Asgreen of Denmark and Vegard Stake Laengen of Norway as the two leaders, but they were finally overtaken by the peloton with 20 kilometers left to go.

Several riders tried to attack, and Asgreen's Danish teammate Michael Valgren looked successful for a while as he went 30 seconds ahead. The French team, however, closed the gap in an attempt to set up Bardet, but they also helped Valverde and Woods to the front.

It ultimately enabled Valverde to claim his first word title, two years before his announced retirement after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. </s> INNSBRUCK, Austria -- Michael Woods fed off the crowd's energy in a big way Sunday at the men's road race world championship.

Woods, a 31-year-old from Ottawa, won bronze to become the first Canadian in the top three at the event since Steve Bauer finished third in 1984.

"My ears were ringing because the people were so loud and I could hear their cow bells," Woods said. "Even before the race, I told myself I'd try to get inspiration and energy from what the fans bring to the race. There were so many fans today."

Alejandro Valverde of Spain won gold and Romain Bardet of France took silver.

It's been an impressive year for Woods.

He won a stage of the Spanish Vuelta earlier this month, was second in a stage of the Giro d'Italia in May, and finished in second place at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race in April.

A former elite distance runner at the University of Michigan, Woods switched to cycling due to a recurrent stress fracture in his foot.

"Coming from another sport, it's been hard for me to believe that I could win when so (many) good riders are in the field but my stage victory at La Vuelta helped me boost my confidence," Woods said. "Now I'm starting to believe in myself."

Sunday's win was Valverde's seventh time on the podium, but first time winning gold.

The Spanish rider sprinted to the world title after a grueling, mountainous race of 6 hours, 46 minutes through the Austrian Alps, including a final climb with a maximum gradient of 28 per cent.

Valverde led a group of four in the final kilometre, and he just remained ahead of Bardet and Woods in the sprint. Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands placed fourth.

The victory came 15 years after Valverde won silver in Hamilton, Ont., a feat he repeated in 2005 in Madrid. He also came third four times, in 2006 and three years in a row from 2012-14.

"This is the greatest day of my career. It means everything to me to take this victory," the 38-year-old Valverde said through an interpreter.

He became the first Spanish world champion since Oscar Freire won the title in 2004.

Valverde, who served a doping suspension earlier in his career, has won stages in all Grand Tours and was the overall winner of the Vuelta in 2009. Sunday's title came a year after he suffered a fractured kneecap in a fall in the Tour de France, forcing him to end his 2017 season prematurely.

Valverde positioned himself for the win when he went ahead of the pack together with Bardet and Woods for the final five kilometres. While the trio built a lead of a half-minute, Dumoulin managed to catch up for the last 1,500 metres.

However, the Dutchman lacked the power to attack again, and Valverde held off challenges by Bardet and Woods to cross the line first.

Peter Sagan had his three-year winning streak snapped when he quit the race with 90 kilometres left. The Slovakian sprint specialist struggled on the 258-kilometre course, which included 4,681 metres of climbing and was regarded as one of the toughest world championship courses in decades.

Many of the pre-race favourites had problems, while Warren Barguil of France and Primoz Roglic of Slovenia were among the contenders slowed by crashes.

A group of 11 riders broke away in the opening kilometres, and as there were no title favourites among them, the peloton wasn't bothered about chasing them for most of the race.

The group was allowed to build a lead of up to 19 minutes, but was gradually reduced as more and more riders couldn't keep up with its pace.

It left Kasper Asgreen of Denmark and Vegard Stake Laengen of Norway as the two leaders, but they were finally overtaken by the peloton with 20 kilometres left to go.

Several riders tried to attack, and Asgreen's Danish teammate Michael Valgren looked successful for a while as he went 30 seconds ahead. The French team, however, closed the gap in an attempt to set up Bardet, but they also helped Valverde and Woods to the front.

It ultimately enabled Valverde to claim his first word title, two years before his announced retirement after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

-- With files from The Canadian Pres s </s> Valverde takes world title in four-man final sprint

Valverde wins the sprint from the front, denying Bardet, Woods and Dumoulin in attritional race that fractured on leg-breaking final climb.

Alejandro Valverde (Spain) took the world title after leading out the final four players in an attritional 265-kilometer race in the Austrian mountains. Romain Bardet (France) and Michael Woods (Canada) took second and third, having been unable to come around the Spaniard in the final kilometer. Tom Dumoulin took fourth after a brave solo chase to the leaders in the final kilometers.

“It’s just something incredible,” said Valverde. “There are so many years fighting, fighting, and finally, I achieved it.

“Many times I was very close and I have six medals and not one of them was a gold. Finally I could manage to pull it off. I knew I couldn’t mess it up in the last kilometer.”

The race kicked off almost from the gun, with two breaks going clear and joining forces after around 20km of racing. The break was made up of Robert Britton (Canada), Tobias Ludvigsson (Sweden), Kasper Asgreen (Denmark), Conor Dunne, Ryan Mullen (both Ireland), Daniil Fominykh (Kazakhstan), Vegard Stake Laengen (Norway), Karel Hnik (Czech Republic), Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (South Africa), Ilia Koshevoy (Belarus), and Laurent Didier (Luxembourg).

The break stretched out their gap to 19 minutes by the summit of the Gnadenwald, the first climb of the day, however, 200km remained and the peloton was calm.

As the race entered the first of the route’s six laps – each of which included the Igls climb – Great Britain, Slovenia, Austria, and France took to the front of the bunch, controlling the pace. The Spanish, French, and Polish kept close to to the front, but didn’t contribute to pacemaking.

As the kilometers ticked by, the difficulty of the mountainous route became evident, and riders constantly slipped off the back of the peloton. Likewise, the break started fatiguing, and the once-cohesive unit lost Mullen, Dunne, and Didier on the third ascent on the Igls.

Warren Barguil (France) hit the deck and pulled out on 100km, marking a blow for the French team, and shortly after, Peter Sagan (Slovakia) dropped out of the bunch, the constant climbing too much for him.

With 80km to go, the gap was down to seven minutes as the pace in the bunch notably increased, driven by GB and the Spanish. By the top of the fourth climb of Igls, the break was down to four; Laengen, Britton, Asgreen, and Van Rensburg.

With 200km down and 65km remaining, the race started hotting up, with Dario Cataldo (Italy), and Jesus Herrada (Spain) launching from the peloton. Shortly after, dangermen Vicenzo Nibali (Italy), and Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) bridged. They gained several seconds, but the Russian, GB, Spanish, and French teams soon brought them back. The next attack came from Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium), with Damiano Caruso (Spain) and Omar Fraile (Italy) soon joining him.

With 50km and one lap of the Igls remaining, all the main contenders were still present bar Sagan and Barguil, with Primoz Roglic (Slovenia) chasing hard after an earlier crash. The Van Avermaet group were 20 seconds in front of them and working well, with the break down to four minutes.

With only 45km remaining, flurries of short-lived attacks kept going off the front, with Germany, Italy, and France particularly active. This upping in pace bought back the trio of Caruso, Fraile, and Van Avermaet, and shelled Dan Martin (Ireland), Wout Poels (Netherlands), Kwiatkowski, and Simon Yates (GB). Up front, the original break was down to two, Asgreen and Laengen.

As the race started approaching the final ascent of the Igls, the two leaders, who had been out front all day, were still over two minutes in front.

The Italian team, still totally intact, took to the front on the climb, taking control for Gianni Moscon and Vicenzo Nibali. The Dutch, Spanish, and French kept close behind them in a bunch now down to around 60 riders.

On 24km to go, Steven Kruijswijk (Netherlands) went clear, briefly breaking the rhythm of the race, though the bunch soon came back together. The change in pace was enough to drop several from the group, notably Nibali and Van Aevermaet. With 2km remaining of the last ascent of the Igls, the two remaining riders in the break were finally swallowed up.

Peter Kennaugh (GBR) attacked hard as the race approached the top of the climb, but soon faded. However, his acceleration drew out Michael Valgren (Denmark), who went over the summit with a decent gap. On the descent, several riders including Rui Costa (Portugal), Moscon, Thibaut Pinot (France), and Roglic lead the chase. Up front, Valgren had taken 30 seconds and looked comfortable, with just the steep Holl climb remaining.

In the run into the Holl, the French and Dutch teams chased hard, with the latter still boasting a strong number of riders. As the narrow, brutal climb kicked in, the bunch shattered, with the Frenchmen Julian Alaphilippe and Pinot at the front, along with Valverde, Woods, and Moscon. Alaphilippe soon went backward, whilst Woods, Bardet, Moscon, and Valverde caught and dropped Valgren. Behind, Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) chased hard.

Woods went over the summit of the Holl first having set a fearsome pace, whilst Moscon went off the back.

The race was now led by Woods, Valverde, and Bardet, with Dumoulin not far behind. On the descent, the lead trio watched each other, none of them willing to commit. With 2km to go, Dumoulin’s furious chase paid off, as he made contact with the leaders.

In the final straight, Valverde led out the sprint, and stayed strong to the line, with Woods attempting to come around him but lacking the legs, and Dumoulin hesitating at the back.

“It was a long sprint and they put all the responsibility on me. When we got to 300m, I said, this is my distance. I went full-gas and finally I could achieve this victory,” said the tearful winner. </s> Michael Woods has cycled his way to bronze at the Road Cycling World Championships in Innsbruck. Woods finished in third, within one second of the leading time of 6:46:41.

It was a tight finish between Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, France’s Romain Bardet and Dutchman Tom Dumoulin. Valverde crossed the finish line first. The other three finished within one second after him, with Bardet crossing second, followed by Woods.

This podium finish matches Canada’s best finish in this event, accomplished first by Steve Bauer in 1984.

Woods gained momentum when cycling uphill, advancing ahead of his opponents and to the the leading group. Three other Canadians competed in the race: Hugo Houle, Antoine Duchesne and Robert Britton. </s> PARIS (Reuters) - Egan Bernal became the first Colombian to win the Tour de France when he retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey after Sunday’s 21st and final stage won by Caleb Ewan of Australia.

The 22-year-old Bernal, the youngest rider to win the race in 110 years, gave Team Ineos — formerly Team Sky — their seventh title in the last eight editions.

He beat team mate and defending champion Geraint Thomas of Britain by 1:11, with Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk coming home third, 1:31 off the pace.

Also the winner of the white jersey for the best Under-25 rider, Bernal did not win a single stage, but he was first at the top of the Col de l’Iseran when the 19th stage was stopped because of hailstorms and landslides in the Alps.

Kruijswijk’s Jumbo-Visma team shone throughout the race, winning four stages through Dylan Groenewegen, Wout van Aert, Mike Teunissen and the team time trial.

Briton Adam Yates failed to impress but his Mitchelton-Scott team also claimed four stages. Yates’ twin brother Simon won two stages while Matteo Trentin and Daryl Impey took one apiece.

France’s Julian Alaphilippe, who wore the yellow jersey for 14 days but cracked in the Alps and ended fifth overall, was the race’s most exciting rider.

The world number one, who had been fighting to become France’s first winner since Bernard Hinault in 1985, was voted this year’s most aggressive rider after also winning two stages.

“Alaphilippe changed the deal of this Tour de France, no question about it,” said Tour director Christian Prudhomme.

“There was also the absence of (four-times champion) Chris Froome, which gave hope to many riders.”

Slovakian Peter Sagan wrapped up a record seventh green jersey for the points classification, surpassing the previous mark he held jointly with German Erik Zabel.

Frenchman Romain Bardet won the polka dot jersey for the mountains classification, a consolation prize after he dropped out of overall contention early on.

Sunday’s stage, a mostly processional ride from Rambouillet that ended on the Champs Elysees, as it has done every year since 1975, was won by Ewan, who snatched his third stage win on his Tour debut.

Ewan burst through on the right side of the cobbled avenue to beat Dutchman Groenewegen and Italian Niccolo Bonifazio, who were second and third respectively. </s> Madrid: Chris Froome has won his first Spanish Vuelta title to secure the elusive Tour de France-Vuelta double.

Froome had virtually secured victory with a solid performance in the difficult climb up the Alto de l'Angliru on Saturday, which marked the last competitive stage of the three-week race.

"It's just incredible," Froome said. "I'm still coming to terms with everything. It's been such an incredible journey."

Riders cruised to the finish in Sunday's 21st stage. Italian Matteo Trentin won the final sprint to clinch his fourth stage victory in this year's Vuelta.

Froome, who earlier this year clinched his fourth Tour de France title, had finished runner-up in La Vuelta three times, including last year.

The Team Sky rider became the third man to complete the Tour-Vuelta double in the same season, after Jacques Anquetil in 1963 and Bernard Hinault in 1978, when the Vuelta was still held in the spring before the Tour.

"Just the fact that nobody's ever won the Tour and then La Vuelta afterwards, it's incredible to be able to do it," said Froome, the first British rider to win the Vuelta.

"It's just been an amazing few months and I want to thank everyone who has contributed to that. I've been fighting for this victory for six years and three years I've been standing on the second step so it's amazing to stand on the first step this time."

Froome won two Vuelta stages this year, finishing two minutes, 15 seconds in front of Italian Vincenzo Nibali of Team Bahrain-Merida, who won the Vuelta in 2010 and was runner-up in 2013.

Russian Ilnur Zakarin of Team Katusha Alpecin, secured the final podium spot, almost three minutes behind Froome.

Froome also won the points competition, while Astana Pro Team won the overall team event.

Alberto Contador, the three-time Vuelta winner, ended his career on a high note by winning Saturday's difficult 20th stage. He was loudly cheered by Spanish fans as he arrived to cross the finish line one last time.

The rest of the riders allowed him to break from the peloton and ride a few moments by himself as the fans applauded. After the race, Contador took a Spanish flag and went for one final parade lap.

"It was very special to get to lead all the riders into Madrid," Contador said. "It was an incredible finish. I dreamed about ending my career this way."

"It's a dream. I can't imagine a better goodbye than this," he said." </s> Egan Bernal has become the first-ever Colombian winner of the Tour de France at the 106th edition of the world’s most prestigious road cycling tournament which wrapped up on Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris.

On Sunday, the 22-year-old rider effectively sealed his title prior to the processional 128km stage starting from Rambouillet. He raised glasses of champagne with Ineos teammates for a celebration shortly on the stage after his win, reports Xinhua news agency.

“It’s incredible. I don’t know what to say. I’ve won the Tour but I don’t manage to believe it. I need a couple of days to process all this,” admitted Bernal, also the tournament’s youngest titlist in more a century.

Bernal gained the yellow jersey from Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe in a dramatic manner, as Friday’s stage 19 was brought to an early end due to hail storm and riders’ time was recorded at the summit of 2,770m-high Col d’Iseran. Bernal kept his overall lead enroute to the Champs-Elysees.

“This is the first Tour for us Colombians. Many Colombians have tried before. We’ve had great cyclists in the past. But I’m the first one to win the Tour. Colombia deserves it,” commented Bernal, who also won the white jersey for the best young rider.

Team Ineos, formerly Team Sky, made it seven wins out of eight years, following those of Bradley Wiggins in 2012, Chris Froome in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and Geraint Thomas in 2018.

Thomas finished runner-up, 1 minute and 11 seconds behind teammate Bernal. Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk and Emanuel Buchmann of Germany were placed third and fourth respectively.

Alaphilippe, the yellow jersey owner for most days of this Tour, ranked fifth overall while winning the Combativity award.

Sunday’s finale was won by Australia’s Caleb Ewan, who claimed three stage victories in Tour debut.

155 of 176 starting riders managed to withstand challenges in the 23-day race.

Slovakia’s Peter Sagan won a record seventh sprint green jersey with 316 points, while the polka dot jersey representing the best climber belonged to French rider Romain Bardet with 86 points. Movistar sit atop the overall team standings in 248 hours 58 minutes and 15 seconds.
Alejandro Valverde wins his first title after a four-man sprint, ahead of Romain Bardet and Michael Woods.