You have to go back to the last century to remember a World Cup under such adverse conditions. Back in 1993, with Lance Armstrong in Oslo or five years later in Valkenburg, with the gold of Oscar Camenzind. Two precedents that will coexist from now with the Yorkshire World Cup, where the road to the rainbow was flooded by intimidating floods. "It was awful. There is no other word to describe it," said Michael Matthews, who started as a favorite, but could only finish twenty-fourth. Four places behind Julian Alaphilippe finished. "I had participated in difficult races, but I will remember this for a long time. Just having reached the goal I feel happy," added the Frenchman, his face disengaged after more than six and a half hours

18 l / m² and 12ºC

In Harrogate, the town where the final nine laps were played, the average rainfall during the month of September is close to 70 l / m². However, only on Sunday, according to data from the British meteorological service, almost 18 liters were collected from the early hours of the morning. In Leyburn, also within the boundaries of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, almost 10 liters had been collected before the platoon passed. The temperature did not exceed 12 ° C.

23.5 km of scissors

"What could we do? Unfortunately, it was not in our hands. There was an extraordinary rain," a spokesman for the organization, who cut 23.5 km for a final route of 260.7 km, told cyclingnews . In addition, the two main difficulties, prior to the final circuit, were eliminated from the Grinton Moor and Buttertubs route, from a profile that was not characterized precisely by its hardness.

76.5% dropouts

Ukrainian Mark Padun and South African Jay Thompson did not even take the exit. So of the 195 cyclists from 41 countries that started the test, they only reached the 46th goal. The 149 dropouts (76.5%) represent the highest number of the last decades. You have to go back to the World Cup in Colombia in 1995, played in Duitama, for a higher percentage. 78 dropouts of a platoon of 98 (79.6%).

Two hours without TV

Conditions worsened after noon, when there were still almost 130 kilometers left for the goal, so the live broadcast was limited to a minimum for more than two hours. Deprived of the motorcycle images, since the two helicopters could not work, the only material available came from the six fixed cameras placed in the circuit. The live could only be restored for the last five laps.

34 years of drought

"I had not made mistakes and I was in the right place. I just stayed empty," Mathieu van der Poel admitted with resignation about his blowout in the absence of 12km to the finish line. Holland, the fourth historical power in the World Cups (seven golds, only one more than Spain) must wait to find Joop Zoetemelk a successor. Since that gold of 1985 in Giavera di Montello, only frustrations.

The youngest in 20 years

With 23 years and 10 months, Mads Pedersen has become the eleventh youngest runner ever to wear the rainbow. In the last two decades, only Oscar Freire, with 23 years and eight months in Verona 1999, had. In addition, the Trek rodent becomes the first Danish to hang gold, since of the previous five medals, only three had been silver -Leif Mortensen (1970), Bo Hamburger (1997) and Matti Breschel (2010) .

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