Cycling: Lennard Kämna (Germany) just missed out on the gold medal in the U23 road race. In the two-man sprint, he lost out to the new world champion Benoit Cosnefroy (France). Bronze went to Michael Svendgaard (Denmark) in the sprint. Previously, the Italian Elena Pirrone was able to prevail again in the juniors. The German girls missed the top 10.
U23: Lennard Kämna makes the decisive attack
The U23 men had to cover 10 x 19,1 kilometers in the road race today. In each lap, the focus was on the 1,5-kilometer climb to Salmon Hill. As expected, a large leading group broke away early on. However, this fell apart from lap to lap and was finally provided by the peloton. After several failed attacks, Lennard Kämna attacked about 13 kilometers from the finish. At first he was alone for several meters before the future world champion Benoit Cosnefroy was able to catch up. The two fought against the approaching group and actually managed to get to the finish line in just a few seconds. Even though Kämna had the better position in the final sprint, he couldn't get past the Frenchman. Cosnefroy pulled through from the front and didn't give Kämna the slightest chance. After the gold medal in the team time trial and the silver medal in the road race, Lennard Kämna should be more than satisfied.
It contains @BenoitCosnefroy 🇫🇷!! WHAT.A.FINISH! He's the new Men's U23 World Champion🌈 #Bergen2017 pic.twitter.com/ggIigVdBPt
- UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 22, 2017
Juniors: Elena Pirrone with double gold
The junior women already competed in their road race before the U23 men. Elena Pirrone secured her second gold medal on the 76,4 kilometer circuit in Bergen. The 18-year-old Italian delivered an impressive performance. She broke away in the penultimate lap about 30 kilometers from the finish and pulled through as a soloist. The chasing group was initially not in agreement, but then could no longer close the gap even with combined forces. Twelve seconds behind Elena Pirrone, Denmark's Cecilie Norsgaard Jorgensen sprinted to silver and Italy's Letizia Paternoster bronze. Unfortunately, the German girls could not intervene in the fight for the medals. Hannah Ludwig still delivered a decent performance with 15th place and she can certainly be satisfied with her entire World Championships in Bergen.
Women's Junior Road Race Podium
@elena_pirrone
Emma Jorgensen
Letizia Paternoster #Bergen2017 pic.twitter.com/ft1ZoioE5x— UCIWomenCycling (@UCIWomenCycling) September 22, 2017