Siutsou solos to gold

ByEurosport

Published 01/10/2004 at 15:14 GMT

Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR) stomped the Italian Squadra on their home soil Friday, soloing free to win the men's under-23 road race at the Verona-hosted World Championships. Thomas Dekker (NED) picked up a second silver after the time-trial, with Mads Chris

Eurosport

Image credit: Eurosport

A motivated Italian train ran out of steam in a mad-capped under-23 race, which etched 12 laps and 177 km over a taxing circuit course.

The Italian home team had all five of its men rotating in and out of the action Friday, before Domenico Pozzovivo made the big break, escaping with winner Siutsou some 35 km from the finish.

The duo traded stellar turns at the front until the final turn up the Torricelle climb, a short-but-taxing 3.1 km ascent that took on Everest proportions in the blazing speeds of the final laps.

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Siutsou's final-climb attack dropped Pozzovivo like a sack of potatoes, the 22-year-old Belarus rider tucking into a time-trial for the line to win gold by a monster 1 min 1 sec margin.

Pozzovivo tried to salvage silver for Italy, but was spanked in the finale by Dutchman Thomas Dekker and Dane Mads Christensen, who took second and third respectively.

Pre-race favourite Dekker also won silver in the under-23 time-trial, but expressed no rancour at his double runner-up performance.

"I'm not disappointed," the Dutchman said after the finish. "I've had a good week."

Dekker's thoughts on winner Siutsou?

"I'd never seen him before... Apparently he's a good rider."

World Road Race Champs