Ledanois becomes U23 World Champion
France, Italy dominate as Consonni, Turgis round out podium
Kevin Ledanois (France) came home with a thrilling victory in the men’s U23 World Championships in Richmond, Virginia after a well-timed attacked in the closing stages of the race. Despite a late surge from the bunch, the Frenchman was able to hold off Simone Consonni (Italy) and Anthony Turgis (France) who finished in second and third.
The race, as predicted, came down to the final lap of 10, with Italy and France well positioned before the final set of three climbs. A crash on Libby Hill from Belgian Nathan Van Hooydonck initially split the field but Ledanois made his move on the climb of 23rd Street.
He only had a small margin of a few seconds at the foot of Governor Street with Italy setting a frantic late chase. With 500 meters to go it looked as though Ledanois would be reeled in as Consonni and Gianni Moscon (Italy) gave chase but with Turgis sitting in and Ledanois just having enough in the tank, France were able to celebrate a rainbow jersey and a bronze medal.
Italy had ridden an intelligent race throughout with Davide Martinelli in two key moves. They had strength in depth in the finale too but the French had numbers as well and timed their offensive play to perfection.
Turgis and Ledanois swept by a fading Martinelli near the summit of Libby Hill and Ledanois, son of former rider Yvon Ledanois – now a team director at BMC Racing – surged clear. The 22-year-old only held a thin margin over the splinted field but the Bretagne - Séché Environnement rider ground his way up the final two climbs. He desperately sprinted out of the saddle when Italy started to close the gap and held off Consonni.
How it unfolded
Frantic, fast, frenetic. Everything you really expect from a U23 race at this level when there’s a rainbow jersey on the line.
Omer Goldstein (Israel), Jean Bosco Insengiyumva (Rwanda) and Joao Rodrigues (Portugal) attacked on the first lap and created the first break of the morning with Algeria’s Adil Barbari soon joining them.
Eddie Dubar (Ireland), Greg Daniel (USA) Paredes (Colombia), and Astafyev (Kaz) soon joined them but it wasn’t until a move that contained Dubar, Davide Martinelli (Italy), Oleg Zemlyakov (Kazakhstann), Maximillian Schachmann (Germany) and Jose Luis Rodriguez (Chile) formed did the race move into a more settled format.
Martinelli presence was clear from the start – contain the break but offer little in the way of assistance but with just over 50 kilometres to go the strain was beginning to tell with Dubar the first to fall from the back of the group on the ascent of Libby Hill.
The remaining four leaders had just a minute on the peloton with three laps of the circuit to go but an untimely mechanical for Martinelli took him out of the running at that stage.
With two laps remaining the French, Italians - now that Martinelli had dropped back – and the British took control with the break caught on the penultimate time up Libby Hill.
Søren Kragh Andersen (Denmark), a double stage winner in the Tour de l'Avenir crested the top alone and he built up a 10 second lead on the descent but the peloton were still bristling with strong legs and well-represented nations. The Dane was caught inside the final 10 kilometres with Martinelli, Nils Politt (Germany), Jakub Kaczmarek (Poland) striking clear on the now, slightly wet roads. They lacked the necessary cooperation and so it came down the final set of three hills.
Nathan Van Hooydonck (Belgium), Owain Doull (Great Britain) and ads Würtz Schmidt (Denmark) were all taken out by crashes with the French able to stay ahead of the falls. Over the top off Libby Hill Ledanois still had much to do but with Turgis present and Consonni admitting later that he lacked the confidence to attack earlier, the Frenchman stayed clear.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Kevin Ledanois (France) | 3:54:45 |
2 | Simone Consonni (Italy) | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Anthony Turgis (France) | 0:00:02 |
4 | Gianni Moscon (Italy) | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Alexander Kamp Egested (Denmark) | 0:00:05 |
6 | Fabian Lienhard (Switzerland) | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Michal Schlegel (Czech Republic) | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Lucas Gaday Orozco (Argentina) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Adam De Vos (Canada) | 0:00:10 |
10 | Lennard Kamna (Germany) | 0:00:12 |
11 | Merhawi Kudus Ghebremedhin (Eritrea) | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Tom Bohli (Switzerland) | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Jack Haig (Australia) | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Tim Kerkhof (Netherlands) | 0:00:13 |
15 | Mihkel Raim (Estonia) | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Michal Paluta (Poland) | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Benjamin Declercq (Belgium) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Jakub Kaczmarek (Poland) | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Maxime Farazijn (Belgium) | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Miguel Angel Benito Diez (Spain) | 0:00:16 |
21 | Alexander Wachter (Austria) | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Sam Oomen (Netherlands) | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Twan Brusselman (Netherlands) | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Imanol Estevez (Spain) | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Rok Korosec (Slovenia) | 0:00:24 |
26 | Benjamin Perry (Canada) | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Lucas Eriksson (Sweden) | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Felix Grossschartner (Austria) | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Soren Kragh Andersen (Denmark) | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Sebastian Schonberger (Austria) | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Ignacio Prado (Mexico) | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Fabien Grellier (France) | 0:00:29 |
33 | Stylianos Farantakis (Greece) | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Josip Rumac (Croatia) | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Jan Dieteren (Germany) | 0:00:35 |
36 | Dylan Page (Switzerland) | 0:00:37 |
37 | Laurens De Plus (Belgium) | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Truls Engen Korsaeth (Norway) | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Nuno Matos (Portugal) | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | David Per (Slovenia) | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Cristian Raileanu (Republic of Moldova) | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Anders Skaarseth (Norway) | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Metkel Eyob (Eritrea) | 0:00:48 |
44 | Hector Saez Benito (Spain) | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Yuri Kobashi (Japan) | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Samir Jabrayilov (Azerbaijan) | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Erik Baska (Slovakia) | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Daniel Eaton (United States Of America) | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Gasper Katrasnik (Slovenia) | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Nils Politt (Germany) | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Michael Gogl (Austria) | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Oliviero Troia (Italy) | 0:00:59 |
53 | Josten Vaidem (Estonia) | 0:01:03 |
54 | Sergey Luchshenko (Kazakhstan) | 0:01:07 |
55 | Rui Carvalho (Portugal) | 0:01:09 |
56 | Nicholas Schultz (Australia) | 0:01:12 |
57 | Ildar Arslanov (Russian Federation) | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eritrea) | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Hugo Hofstetter (France) | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Guy Gabay (Israel) | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Toshiki Omote (Japan) | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Yevgeniy Gidich (Kazakhstan) | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Ryan Gibbons (South Africa) | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Daan Myngheer (Belgium) | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Maximilian Schachmann (Germany) | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Davide Martinelli (Italy) | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Gregor Muhlberger (Austria) | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Artem Nych (Russian Federation) | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Roman Kustadinchev (Russian Federation) | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | James Oram (New Zealand) | 0:01:17 |
71 | Anass Ait El Abdia (Morocco) | 0:01:20 |
72 | Jose Luis Rodriguez (Chile) | 0:01:25 |
73 | Daniel Hoelgaard (Norway) | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Odd Christian Eiking (Norway) | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Wilmar Paredes (Colombia) | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Oleg Zemlyakov (Kazakhstan) | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Lennard Hofstede (Netherlands) | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | Harry Carpenter (Australia) | 0:01:48 |
79 | Patrick Muller (Switzerland) | 0:02:08 |
80 | Juan Felipe Osorio (Colombia) | 0:02:20 |
81 | Marcus Faglum Karlsson (Sweden) | 0:02:22 |
82 | Nathan Van Hooydonck (Belgium) | 0:02:49 |
83 | Adrian Banaszek (Poland) | 0:03:02 |
84 | Dion Smith (New Zealand) | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Daniel Turek (Czech Republic) | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
86 | Josef Cerny (Czech Republic) | 0:03:31 |
87 | Logan Owen (United States Of America) | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | Leonardo Basso (Italy) | 0:03:32 |
89 | Jayde Julius (South Africa) | 0:03:34 |
90 | Colin Joyce (United States Of America) | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
91 | Markus Hoelgaard (Norway) | 0:04:11 |
92 | Owain Doull (Great Britain) | 0:04:25 |
93 | Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Denmark) | 0:04:40 |
94 | Krists Neilands (Latvia) | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Gustav Hoog (Sweden) | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | Davide Ballerini (Italy) | 0:05:17 |
97 | Bonaventure Uwizeyimana (Rwanda) | 0:05:42 |
98 | Thery Schir (Switzerland) | 0:06:11 |
99 | Pedro Rodriguez (Ecuador) | 0:06:53 |
100 | Fabrizio Von Nacher Suess (Mexico) | 0:08:14 |
101 | Juraj Bellan (Slovakia) | 0:08:51 |
102 | Stepan Astafyev (Kazakhstan) | 0:09:46 |
103 | Esteban David Villareal Almeida (Ecuador) | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
104 | Joao Rodrigues (Portugal) | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
105 | Abderrahmane Mansouri (Algeria) | 0:10:44 |
106 | Aksel Nommela (Estonia) | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
107 | Ludvig Bengtsson (Sweden) | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
108 | Eddie Dunbar (Ireland) | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
109 | Adil Barbari (Algeria) | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
110 | Dmitriy Lukyanov (Kazakhstan) | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
111 | Mamyr Stash (Russian Federation) | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Denmark) | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Lubos Malovec (Slovakia) | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Franck Bonnamour (France) | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Hayden Mccormick (New Zealand) | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Juan Ignacio Curuchet (Argentina) | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Roy Goldstein (Israel) | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yonas Tekeste Haile (Eritrea) | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tao Geoghegan Hart (Great Britain) | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ruben Guerreiro (Portugal) | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Aviv Yechzkel (Israel) | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yuma Koishi (Japan) | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jhonatan Ospina (Colombia) | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tyler Williams (United States Of America) | Row 123 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Valens Ndayisenga (Rwanda) | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Scott Davies (Great Britain) | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alex Peters (Great Britain) | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alejandro Morales (Chile) | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tom Wirtgen (Luxembourg) | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Salvador Martinez (El Salvador) | Row 129 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jonas Koch (Germany) | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Martin Laas (Estonia) | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marlen Zmorka (Ukraine) | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sergiy Kozachenko (Ukraine) | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nigel Ellsay (Canada) | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ruslan Giliazov (Russian Federation) | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alexander Cataford (Canada) | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marc Fournier (France) | Row 137 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Suguru Tokuda (Japan) | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mads Wurtz Schmidt (Denmark) | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Caio Godoy Ormenese (Brazil) | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gregory Daniel (United States Of America) | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Xavier San Sebastian (Spain) | Row 142 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Rustom Lim (Philippines) | Row 143 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Atsushi Oka (Japan) | Row 144 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alvaro Jose Hodeg Chagui (Colombia) | Row 145 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jean Bosco Insengiyumva (Rwanda) | Row 146 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gabriel Cullaigh (Great Britain) | Row 147 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nikolay Cherkasov (Russian Federation) | Row 148 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Frantisek Sisr (Czech Republic) | Row 149 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrej Petrovski (Macedonia) | Row 150 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Fridtjof Roeinaas (Norway) | Row 151 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dominic Perez (Philippines) | Row 152 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastian Molano (Colombia) | Row 153 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dominique Mayho (Bermuda) | Row 154 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Miles Scotson (Australia) | Row 155 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jhon Mark Camingao (Philippines) | Row 156 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jefferson Cepeda (Ecuador) | Row 157 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Oskar Nisu (Estonia) | Row 158 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gerardo Medina (Mexico) | Row 159 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nassim Saidi (Algeria) | Row 160 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Narankhuu Bat-Erdene (Mongolia) | Row 161 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Abderrahmane Bechlaghem (Algeria) | Row 162 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Omer Goldstein (Israel) | Row 163 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nickolas Dlamini (South Africa) | Row 164 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kolya Shumov (Belarus) | Row 165 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jhonatan Restrepo (Colombia) | Row 166 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Elias Abou Rachid (Lebanon) | Row 167 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Steven Lammertink (Netherlands) | Row 168 - Cell 2 |
DSQ | Alistair Donohoe (Australia) | Row 169 - Cell 2 |
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
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