World Championships: Mathieu van der Poel storms to historic road race victory despite late crash

Mathieu van der Poel produced a masterclass in the rain in Glasgow as he stormed to victory in the men’s road race at the World Championships.

It was a staggering spectacle as the Dutchman powered to another famous triumph in his remarkable career as he refused to let any rivals – or indeed the tricky weather – slow him down in Scotland.

Van der Poel, who had made it into an elite group of strongmen, including Mads Pedersen (Denmark), Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) and Wout van Aert (Belgium), roared away from his rivals with 23km to go, from the bottom of Cathedral Street. He first swept up Italy’s Alberto Bettiol, who had spent almost an hour out front on his own, before powering himself into a lead of almost 30 seconds within five kilometres.

The 28-year-old was so dominant that, even after his fall with 16km remaining, he was able to cruise home without a real challenge in the final stages as the Glasgow fans roared him on to the finish line.

Wout van Aert stole enough of a march on Pedersen and Pogacar at the flamme rouge, to come home clear in second place. Pogacar beat the predictors, by outsprinting Pedersen for 3rd place on the podium.