Quinn Simmons of the USA launches a solo attack with 33km to go to claim victory in the Junior Men’s Road Race, ahead of Alessio Martinelli of Italy, with Magnus Sheffield, also from USA, securing third spot on the podium.

The race was fraught with crashes from an early stage which would result in the field splitting to such an extent that riders were able to escape off the front hidden in plain sight.

The break of the day saw five riders clip off the front, including the eventual winner and third place riders (Simmons and Sheffield respectively), with GB’s Lewis Askey an integral part of the move. The group of five worked well together and it looked like it could have been the winning break until Germany, and then Italy started working together, eventually bringing the gap down to 10 seconds.

Simmons kept his head and launched a solo attack, which would prove to be decisive. His time trialling ability no doubt helped him to grow the gap although his teammates did a phenomenal job of controlling the front of the bunch. Indeed, the live commentary compared them to a senior pro team.

Alessio Martinelli escaped off the front with a couple of laps to go, but was unable to catch Simmons, whom by now had the bit between his teeth. An attempt to reel Martinelli back would eventually lead to a group of four riders who would fight for the bronze medal, with Sheffield proving to be the strongest in the sprint.

The riders showed composure beyond their years, especially Simmons and Martinelli, both of whom move up to senior ranks in 2020.

Quinn Simmons and Magnus Sheffield – Junior Men’s World Championship Press Conference

Quinn Simmons and Magnus Sheffield talk to the media after talking 1st and 3rd for Team USA in the Junior Men’s Road Race at the UCI World Championships.

Antonio Tiberi of Italy wins the World Championship Junior Men’s Time Trial title despite a mechanical within the first 100m which forced a bike change.

Tiberi finished the 27.6km course in 38 minutes 28.25 seconds, with Dutch rider Enzo Leunse completing the course 7.79 seconds slower, with Germany’s Marco Brenner 12.62 seconds behind Tiberi. The three riders had set off relatively early in the day and their times proved to withstand the later riders. Strong rides from the last three riders on the road (Michel Hessman of Germany, Quinn Simmons of USA and Andrea Piccolo of Italy) were not enough to knock the three fastest riders out of the hot seat. Incidentally, the last three on the road finished in 5th, 4th and 6th respectively.

Tiberi not only had the bike change to contend with, but also had to overtake a rider in front, whom he caught coming into the finish straight on the first lap. He would later say that the first incident helped him to focus, which no doubt assisted him in pushing forward and gaining those extra seconds that would result in him winning the title.

Leo Hayter and Oscar Nilsson-Julien came home in a credible 8th and 9th out of a field of 63 starters.