Slovak cyclist Peter Sagan took 63rd place at the World Championships in mountain biking in Glasgow. The three-time world champion in road cycling did not qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris. It was won by the best two competitors from countries that are not in the top nineteen of the UCI ranking. The favorite Tom Pidcock from Great Britain won the victory.
Sagan started alongside Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel from the fifth row, despite the fact that they have not collected any International Cycling Union points in the discipline this season. It was she who helped both cyclists to a better position on the starting grid. Other competitors criticized the UCI in an open letter for this step, but according to the union, the adjustment of the order added prestige to the race.
The 33-year-old Slovakian avoided a mass crash at the start and in the initial phase was around 30th place, van der Poel retired after a crash at the end of the first lap. However, Sagan gradually began to fall, he was in the fifth ten and in the fifth of eight laps he was overtaken by Arias Cuervo from Colombia, Slovenian Rok Naglič and Tomer Zaltsman from Israel. This basically meant the end of the hope for an Olympic place, Sagan can still get it through the World Cup or thanks to a free card.
Second place behind Pidcock was taken by New Zealander Samuel Gaze with a loss of 19 seconds, and defending champion Nino Schurter from Switzerland (+34 s) completed the podium. Finally, the places to Paris were won by the Latvian Martiņš Blums, who finished in the eleventh place, and Gerardo Ulloa from Mexico, who occupied the 33rd position. Another Slovak, Matej Ulík, was pulled off the track two laps before the end.
(tasar)
2023-08-14 07:19:02
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