As at the World Cup final in Hoogerheide (NED), Mathieu van der Poel makes a lightning start. Celebrated as the winner there, van der Poel also pulls through at the World Championship race in Tabor. Only the Dutchman Lars van der Haar comes close to his leading compatriot on lap five. But not close enough. While van der Poel takes his first professional world title, van der Haar is caught in the sprint by Wout van der Aert (BEL).

Things were not going according to plan for the Swiss on this day. After his successes this season, Julien Taramarcaz had cautiously set his sights on the top 10. After one lap, Swiss champion Taramarcaz is in a promising eighth place. After crashing on laps two and six, out of eight laps, he dropped back and narrowly missed his target in eleventh place.

Simon Zahner, on the other hand, had a better second half of the race. After several crashes in the start phase, the man from the Zurich Oberland found himself in 37th position after a rudder. Zahner managed to catch himself and, despite the weak start, rode to his best result of the season in 16th place. Marcel Wildhaber fared less well, finishing the race in 25th place. Arnaud Grand finishes 28th

Title goes to "occasional biker" - up-and-coming riders beaten
In the women's race, Pauline Ferrand Prevot (FRA) puts an end to the winning streak of over-athlete Marianne Vos from Holland. But only just, as the Frenchwoman had to fight off Belgium's Sanne Cant in the sprint. Marianne Vos came third, inheriting bronze from the Czech rider Katerina Nash shortly before the finish. The big co-favorite Eva Lechner eliminates her title chances in the first round with a change defect. There are no Swiss women at the start.

The Swiss junior rider Johan Jacobs was at least in with a chance of winning a medal after his strong season. However, world championships can have their own laws and Jacobs had a mishap in the first round. With good legs, the young rider from the Zurich Unterland got himself into a good position in fourth place until his tubular tire tore off the rim. The subsequent long run to the next transition zone cost Jacobs his chances and he finished in 19th place. The world champion was the Dane Simon Andreassen, who had already won the world cross-country title in Hafjell (NOR).

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