Cycling

Julian Alaphilippe has retained the men’s road race title at the Road World Championships in Belgium. The 29-year-old Frenchman finished the 268.3km race in five hours 56 minutes 34 seconds. There was a sprint finish for silver which was taken by Dutchman Dylan van Baarle, while Denmark’s Michael Valgren finished third. Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock

Italy’s Elisa Balsamo won gold in the elite women’s race at the Road Cycling World Championships in Belgium. The 23-year-old claimed the rainbow jersey, hitting the front with 1,000 metres to go and beating Marianne Vos of the Netherlands in a sprint finish. Three-time world champion Vos claimed her sixth silver while Katarzyna Niewiadoma of

Great Britain’s Zoe Backstedt has won silver in the women’s junior time trial at the Road Cycling World Championships in Belgium. The Welsh rider, 16, covered the 19.4 km course in 25 minutes 16.13 seconds, 10.64 seconds slower than winner Alena Ivanchenko of Russia. Great Britain team-mate Maddy Leach finished fifth. Backstedt, who will ride

Venue: Flanders, Belgium Dates: 19-26 September Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, and through Connected TVs The Netherlands’ Ellen van Dijk won her second Road Cycling World Championship time trial title as Britain’s Joss Lowden finished eighth. Van Djik, 34, completed the 30.3km course in 36

Watch the closing stages as Dutch rider Ellen van Dijk wins the world time trial title ahead of Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser and Olympic champion Annemiek van Vleuten at the Road Cycling World Championships in Flanders. 2021 Road World Championships: How to watch live coverage on the BBC Available to UK users only.

Venue: Flanders, Belgium Dates: 19-26 September Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, and through Connected TVs Italy’s Filippo Ganna successfully defended his Road Cycling World Championships time trial title as Great Britain’s Ethan Hayter finished eighth. Ganna, 25, completed the 43.3km course in 47 minutes 47.83

At 50, some evaluate what they did in their lives; others think of what lies ahead. Others fully live in the present – and Davide Rebellin is one of those. Sitting in his team’s headquarters in Padua, north-east Italy – surrounded by jerseys from his career hung proudly on the wall – he enthuses about

Danish former professional cyclist Chris Anker Sorensen has died at the age of 37 after being hit by a vehicle during a ride in Belgium, the International Cycling Union (UCI) says. Sorensen was due to commentate on the Road World Championships, which begin in Flanders on Sunday. A stage winner in the 2010 Giro d’Italia,

Venue: Flanders, Belgium Dates: 19-26 September Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, and through Connected TVs The 2021 UCI Road World Championships begin on Sunday in the Flanders region of Belgium. After Covid-19 restricted last year’s edition to the elite men’s and women’s road races and

Venue: Flanders, Belgium Dates: 19-26 September Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, and through Connected TVs The UCI Road World Championships will be held in Flanders, Belgium from 19-26 September – and all the elite action will be shown live on the BBC. Based around the

SWPix A 12-year-old cyclist who outstripped professionals during a major British race on Saturday has been “shocked and amazed” at the reaction to his feat. Xander Graham raced alongside riders on the Tour of Britain near Edinburgh before being handed a water bottle from Dutch cyclist Pascal Eenkhoorn. The impromptu meeting was broadcast live to

Mark Cavendish, Ethan Hayter and Lizzie Deignan have all been included in the Great Britain team for the UCI Road World Championships taking place in Flanders, Belgium. British Cycling has named a squad of 30 riders in elite, under-23 and junior categories. Olympic mountain-biking champion Tom Pidcock is included as GB aim to bounce back

Belgium’s Wout van Aert won the final stage of the Tour of Britain to pip Great Britain’s Ethan Hayter to overall victory in the race. Van Aert produced a late surge in a bunched sprint to narrowly and dramatically win stage eight, which was 173km from Stonehaven to Aberdeen. Germany’s Andre Greipel was second, with

Belgium’s Yves Lampaert won a sprint finish to claim victory on stage seven of the Tour of Britain. Lampaert beat American Matteo Jorgenson into second with Britain’s Matt Gibson third. The trio were part of a breakaway from the main peloton on the penultimate stage of the race, which covered 194.8km from Hawick in the

Belgium’s Wout van Aert moved to within four seconds of Tour of Britain leader Ethan Hayter after pipping the Briton in a sprint finish to win stage six. The 198km stage from Carlisle to Gateshead culminated in a three-way sprint between the overall favourites – Van Aert edging Hayter with world champion Julian Alaphilippe in

Swift Carbon Racing rider William Bjergfelt hopes to inspire other athletes “to believe anything is possible” after becoming the first para-cyclist to compete in the Tour of Britain. Bjergfelt, from Somerset, was involved in a head-on collision with a car in 2015 which left him with a bleed on the brain and his right leg

Britain’s Ethan Hayter sprinted to victory on stage five of the Tour of Britain to reclaim the leaders’ blue jersey just 24 hours after he lost it. Hayter beat Giacomo Nizzolo and Dan McLay to the line in Warrington after his Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Owain Doull crashed and split the peloton. Overnight leader Wout van

Belgium’s Wout van Aert outsprinted Julian Alaphilippe to win stage four of the Tour of Britain and reclaim top spot overall from Briton Ethan Hayter. Jumbo-Visma rider Van Aert, 22, pipped the world champion to the line on the final ascent of Great Orme. Van Aert finished eight seconds ahead of Hayter, who was fifth,