13 October 2016 – Doha, Qatar :
Kristoffer Halvorsen sprinted to gold in the Men’s Under 23 Road Race at the UCI Road World Championships Doha 2016 with a time of 3:40.53. The Norwegian finished off a great team-effort, when he beat Germany’s Pascal Ackermann and Jakub Mareczko from Italy on the line in a bunch sprint, after ten 15.2 kilometre laps for a total of 165.7 km in The Pearl.
“My teammates were so good, they’ve been working so hard, I’m incredibly happy,” joyful Halvorsen said just minutes after crossing the line. “The course was perfect for me and this was my biggest goal for this season.”

The 20-year-old Norwegian followed the footsteps of fellow countrymen Kurt Asle Arvesen and Sven Erik Bystrøm, who captured the Under 23 title in 1997 and 2014. Norway has now collected three Men’s Under 23 titles to equal France in second place of the all-time ranking. Italy still leads with four gold medals.

Ackermann was piloted very well by his German team-mates and looked on a world title course entering the final straight, only to be pipped on the line by Halvorsen. "The race was tough and fast. The final sprint was a little too long for me. But I’m happy with how I did," said the German.

The Italian team were nowhere to be seen in most parts of the exciting race, but Mareczko managed to place himself well for the final sprint and rolled to bronze. Later on, in the mixed zone he explained the Italians’ startegy : "The team helped me throughout the race. In the final kilometre my teammate suffered a fall. I could sprint well only in the last 150 metres, bit it was too late. I’m still happy with the bronze."

Chronology
The race started nervous, with two crashes at roundabouts within the first five kilometres. Many riders tried to escape from the peloton and after about ten kilometres Dutchman Pascal Eenkhoorn, Amanuel Gebrezgabihier from Eritrea and Portugal’s Nuno Bico were the first to maintain a real gap. The three had 44 seconds at the first crossing of the finish line. With the escapees still in striking distance several riders tried to make a jump. Swiss Patrick Müller and Colombian Bryan Gomez were the first to join the escapees.

While the five leaders were fighting to sustain their lead, Bico slipped, crashed in a sharp turn and lost contact. He stood right up, remounted and managed to get back into the lead group. At the same time Iran’s Mahdi Rajabikaboodcheshmeh, Michael O’Loughlin from Ireland, Gregory Daniel from the USA and Rwandan Jean-Claude Uwizeye joined to a form breakaway, that would make last until the final lap.

Russian Pavel Silakov and Irish Daire Feeley made an effort to escape from the peloton, but they did not manage. The nine leaders worked together to increase their lead to about three minutes, with the chasing peloton not yet fully organised. Many riders still tried to escape, but non succeeded to bridge the gap.

Status quo
Spain and Kazakhstan joined forces in front of the bunch halfway the race.The battlefield went into a status quo, with the breakaway holding on to their three-minute gap. Meanwhile the heat and the fast pace took their toll at the back of the bunch. Costa Rica’s Gabriel Marin was the first to step off his bike in after the first full lap and many were to follow. In total only 149 of the 188 starters completed the full 165.7 kilometres in The Pearl.

With about 50 kilometres to go, mutual trust seemed to fade in the breakaway group. In the peloton, Norway came to front row, working for pre-race favourite Kristoffer Halvorsen, who had dominated the sprints in this year’s Tour de l’Avenir. Together with British, Spanish and Kazakh help, the Norwegians slowly drew the peloton nearer and nearer to the leaders. At three laps from the finish, the gap was 2.20 minutes and with two laps to go it was 1.36 minutes.

Gebrezgabihier was the first of the leaders to give way. The Eritrean rider suffered from heavy cramps and had to let his eighth fellow escapees go in the eighth lap. He was quickly swallowed by the hunting peloton. Bryan Gomez was the second to drop from the breakaway and In the penultimate lap Nuno Bico attacked. He didn’t get space however and heading into the final lap the seven frontrunners still hold on to a 22 second lead. The Norwegian army in full blown fashion was chasing them on the finish line.

Final showdown
In the final lap Rajabikaboodcheshmeh and Eenkhoorn surrendered just seconds before their companions were caught with ten kilometres to go. Norway were still in the driver’s seat, with France, Denmark and Germany eyeing their chances in second row. France and Germany made pace in the final five kilometres, but the Norwegian train rushed to the front again after clearing the red flag for the final kilometre. The final sprint was a close call between Ackermann and Halvorsen, but the Norwegian lived up to the expectations