Evenepoel rides solo breakaway to world road race title

Belgian Remco Evenepoel continued his magnificent season with a solo breakaway to win the world road race title on Sunday, adding the rainbow jersey to his triumphs in the Vuelta a Espana and the Liege–Bastogne–Liege classic.

Two weeks after giving Belgium its first Grand Tour champion in 44 years at the Vuelta, the 22-year-old rider gave his country its first world road race champion in a decade.

Evenepoel rode the last 25km of the 266.9km race on his own, crossing the line at the beach in the centre of the Australian coastal city of Wollongong in six hours, 16 minutes and eight seconds.

Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel, one of the favourites, dropped out 30km into the race after being arrested in Sydney and charged with assault on Saturday night.