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UCI Road World Championships 2017: men’s road race – photo gallery

Peter Sagan wins record-breaking third consecutive rainbow jersey

Peter Sagan is the men’s world road race champion for the third consecutive year, after sprinting to victory in Bergen.

Sagan claimed his first title in Richmond in 2015, before outsprinting Mark Cavendish to win in Doha last year, and beat home favourite Alexander Kristoff to win his third in a row – the first man ever to achieve that feat – at Bergen 2017.

Peter Sagan won the men’s world road race title for the third consecutive year – no man had previously achieved three consecutive wins (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

The Slovakian’s victory closed a week which otherwise saw the Dutch dominate the elite races, with Annemiek van Vleuten (elite women’s time trial), Tom Dumoulin (elite men’s time trial) and Chantal Blaak (elite women’s road race) all getting their hands on the rainbow bands.

It was Sagan who stole the headlines on the final day, however – here’s how the men’s road race unfolded, through the lenses of the team at SWpix.com…

Sagan had been ill in the build-up to the race, missing the team time trial as a result, bit looked in relaxed mood on the startline as he bid to make history (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

The defending champion's custom Specialized S-Works slippers caught the eye on the startline in Bergen (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Huge crowds turned up in Bergen to watch the action unfolding, under the shadow of, well, a giant fish to commemorate their fishing heritage (Pic: Christopher Lanaway/SWpix.com)

The unmistakeable huge frame of Ireland's Conor Dunne in the day's early breakaway (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Whereas last year's UCI Road World Championships were set against a backdrop of sparse deserts in Doha, this year's race enjoyed a postcard-perfect setting on the North Sea coast (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Another big difference compared to last year was the huge volume of fans roadside to watch the race (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Even more were packed into the final kilometre of the finishing circuit, with the route affording plenty of opportunities to see the peloton roar through (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

Naturally, the home riders enjoyed a great reception as they led the bunch through early on (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Though it was Belgium's Julien Vermote who did much of the leg work in the peloton, chasing down the early breakaway with a huge stint on the front (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Owain Doull and Ian Stannard were among the British contingent in Bergen. Ben Swift finished as the best-placed Brit, claiming fifth place in the final sprint (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Sagan had been quiet throughout the race, but shot out of Alexander Kristoff's wheel in the final sprint (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

The result was initially too close to call, with neither man certain who had won (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

Sagan and Kristoff congratulate each other post-race... (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

...but it was Sagan celebrating when the result was confirmed (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

While the home fans were unable to celebrate a Norwegian victory, there were plenty of Slovakians present to enjoy Sagan's triumph (Pic: Christopher Lanaway/SWpix.com)

Sagan celebrates on the final podium, flanked by second-placed Kristoff and third-placed Michael Matthews (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

A first glimpse of the rainbow bands... though it's familiar territory for Sagan who won his first title in Richmond back in 2015 (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

Sagan shows his flamboyance as he poses for photos on the podium (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

Before the waiting media get a first glimpse of the newly-recrowned world champion (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

Sagan admitted he thought his chance of victory had gone in the final few kilometres, before dedicating his win to his pregnant wife and to the late Michele Scarponi (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

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