Men's Road Race

:00:34. > :00:41.From Slovakia, one of the sport toss great showman has landed the title!

:00:42. > :00:42.Its gold from Great Britain. Lizzie Armitstead sprints her way to

:00:43. > :00:55.victory. It's five years since we last had a

:00:56. > :00:59.World Championship course that favoured the sprinters, when Mark

:01:00. > :01:03.Cavendish stormed to victory in Copenhagen. He is back and in great

:01:04. > :01:10.form. Can he repeat that success here in Doha? This is the biggest

:01:11. > :01:22.fixture you can get. Cavendish now, we're going to see

:01:23. > :01:29.whether he can get through. It's all about timing your effort. Here we

:01:30. > :01:37.go, full commitment. Can Cavendish find a way through? The line is

:01:38. > :01:43.getting nearer and nearer. Where is the Manx express. Here he goes. Look

:01:44. > :01:48.at him go. Mark Cavendish has won the world title for Great Britain.

:01:49. > :01:55.The riders will face a very different landscape in Doha, Qatar,

:01:56. > :01:59.to Copenhagen, but it is flat, a sprinter's course. Before we look at

:02:00. > :02:04.the course in more detail, let's hear from the man leading the

:02:05. > :02:09.British charge, Mark Cavendish. He comes, the Manx express. He is the

:02:10. > :02:16.world champion. Mark Cavendish wins the world title for Great Britain.

:02:17. > :02:19.Copenhagen was surreal. It was incredible. Not just the fact that

:02:20. > :02:25.I'd won the world title but how we did it. To be go -- to be able to go

:02:26. > :02:30.in and dominate, having not won the title since the 60s, and to be able

:02:31. > :02:34.to pull a group of guys together to represent a country's comeback with

:02:35. > :02:40.the world title, to think back on gives me goose bumps. Mark Cavendish

:02:41. > :02:46.is the world champion. What are your thoughts? We have got a chance,

:02:47. > :02:50.that's about it. We have got the strongest team in the race. That

:02:51. > :02:56.gave me more confidence than anything. I was going in on my own

:02:57. > :03:01.with just the few guys with a chance we could win, I wouldn't be as

:03:02. > :03:06.confident as I am now. With the guys I'm with, it puts me in the best

:03:07. > :03:10.position. With a sprint, I've always got a good shot. You don't know how

:03:11. > :03:14.it's going to pan out. I think it's going to be a sprint at everything

:03:15. > :03:17.will come back together. It's just how well you look after yourself

:03:18. > :03:22.when it splits up. That will determine how you are going to

:03:23. > :03:26.sprint at the end of it. You know what it takes to win the

:03:27. > :03:30.championship. You tried to repeat that at the 2012 Olympics on the

:03:31. > :03:37.road, so you also know how difficult it is to win a long one-day race. I

:03:38. > :03:44.won the Olympics with 14 weight so you are relying on other teams to

:03:45. > :03:48.kind of join in. -- with four team-mates. I think we can control

:03:49. > :03:54.it from beginning to end. Do your set yourself big goals? You wore the

:03:55. > :03:59.yellow jersey in the Tour de France, silver medal in the Olympics, your

:04:00. > :04:08.first Olympic medal, and potentially another rainbow jersey. Last year I

:04:09. > :04:12.won a rainbow jersey on the track. I haven't won as many races as I do

:04:13. > :04:18.normally in the season but the calibre of the races, the world

:04:19. > :04:24.champion on the track... That medal at the Olympics... It's pretty nice

:04:25. > :04:30.to do, you know? It was a big ask but I'm not one for taking on small

:04:31. > :04:34.tasks. I'd kind of like another rainbow jersey. I don't think

:04:35. > :04:37.anybody has ever won the track and road championships in the same year

:04:38. > :04:43.so that would be special. Saying that, it's not a given. There are

:04:44. > :04:49.incredible strong riders and strong teams and we'll have to get

:04:50. > :04:54.everything right. You've got to do that to be in with a shot of aim

:04:55. > :04:58.medal. -- a shot of a medal. Mark Cavendish saying he has one of the

:04:59. > :05:03.strongest teams but everything will have to go right for him to win that

:05:04. > :05:08.rainbow jersey. Yes, but the reason he has a strong team, it lessens the

:05:09. > :05:14.variables. There are a lot of variables on the road. Anything can

:05:15. > :05:16.happen. 190 riders, you don't know what the conditions, they didn't

:05:17. > :05:21.know what was going to be like today, they had to wait to see how

:05:22. > :05:24.strong the wind was. But Cavendish is a master of it. He built the

:05:25. > :05:28.right team and he knows how to manage them. Mark Cavendish leads

:05:29. > :05:34.everything. He wore the yellow jersey this year and he won the

:05:35. > :05:37.Madison World Championship on the track in London at the start of the

:05:38. > :05:43.year. A multiple stage winner at the Tour de France. How would you sum

:05:44. > :05:47.him up? I think he has everything a leader requires to pull the team

:05:48. > :05:50.together. I think he has ticked a lot of boxes going into this

:05:51. > :05:55.championship. He achieved everything that he wanted. He won a medal at

:05:56. > :05:58.the Olympics. He has ticked if you boxes before even arriving here. He

:05:59. > :06:04.has a strong team and he really wants it. You were team captain on

:06:05. > :06:10.the road at the Olympics and in Copenhagen. How is he to ride with?

:06:11. > :06:13.I've never met a rider like him. He is like the Pied Piper, so

:06:14. > :06:18.charismatic. He makes everybody better. He has hollowed -- positive

:06:19. > :06:23.energy. He makes people laugh. If you let him down, you know it will

:06:24. > :06:29.have consequences, but similarly, if you succeed, he will share that with

:06:30. > :06:33.you. He's a great leader. You have put him up there with some of the

:06:34. > :06:37.greatest sprinters of all time? Definitely. There has been a

:06:38. > :06:40.question over whether this course would present itself as a pure

:06:41. > :06:47.sprinter's course or a hard man's finish. Mark Cavendish has a strong

:06:48. > :06:52.team, he has faith in them, so he'll let them do the job and hopefully it

:06:53. > :06:55.comes down to that. It was a bunch sprint for the women's race

:06:56. > :07:01.yesterday. A strong Great Britain team. Let's hear from some of the

:07:02. > :07:06.key players. Copenhagen was really special. It was something, as a

:07:07. > :07:13.British rider, you didn't even dream of. It was special and it would be

:07:14. > :07:16.great to emulate that. I was watching clips the other day. It's

:07:17. > :07:23.amazing to have been there. One of my best days. A really special day

:07:24. > :07:30.for everyone involved. Watching that on TV, remember being inspired. Nine

:07:31. > :07:34.British lads. You never thought you'd have a team that strong to

:07:35. > :07:41.dominate World Championships. Thinking about it now, it's spine

:07:42. > :07:46.tingling. Conditions and things are different this time. The wind and

:07:47. > :07:49.the heat will be key factors. Hopefully we can deal with that.

:07:50. > :07:53.It's pretty unpredictable. We are not sure how the wind will be and

:07:54. > :08:00.how strong it will be and that will be the decider. There are no hills,

:08:01. > :08:05.that's the main thing! Its pan flat. The wind is decisive. You've got to

:08:06. > :08:09.be a powerful rider. It's about getting stuck in embracing. If the

:08:10. > :08:16.wind blows, it's savage. It might be every man for himself. Then we

:08:17. > :08:21.assess the situation from there. We know each other really well. When we

:08:22. > :08:25.come together as Team GB, would get on like a house on fire. We have a

:08:26. > :08:28.good laugh and get on well. As a team, we are strong with a lot of

:08:29. > :08:35.guys who are good in these conditions. I like riding my bike.

:08:36. > :08:39.When you know you have done a good job, stick it in and really hurt

:08:40. > :08:43.people. When you find that it's a flat course and you got Mark

:08:44. > :08:49.Cavendish in your team, you can only be motivated. I always wanted to

:08:50. > :08:53.come here and do my best. It brings a lot of pressure to have Mark

:08:54. > :09:01.riding with you but it's nice to pay them back. We are up for supporting

:09:02. > :09:07.him. Hopefully we can do it again. Is a superb leader. He brings the

:09:08. > :09:16.whole team up. Having him around brings the team together. Hopefully

:09:17. > :09:27.we can get the gold. I'm 26, in Scott Thwaites from Leeds in

:09:28. > :09:34.Yorkshire. Dan McLay, 24. This is my first elite World Championships.

:09:35. > :09:44.Swift, 28, I'm from Team Sky and from Yorkshire. Adam Blythe, 27,

:09:45. > :09:48.from Sheffield. I'm the current national champion. Interesting to

:09:49. > :09:52.hear from those riders who extended their season purely because it is

:09:53. > :09:57.Mark Cavendish. It is. Three years ago when we found out that Qatar, he

:09:58. > :10:01.sent me a message saying, hold onto your retirement, we are doing Qatar.

:10:02. > :10:06.That is what he is like. He probably message the whole team then and

:10:07. > :10:11.said, guys, we're doing this. He has the long game. They all have roles

:10:12. > :10:16.to play but, on a day like today, there is no more important man in

:10:17. > :10:20.the team then Ian Stannard. He's got a big job. He has the backing and

:10:21. > :10:26.confidence of Mark Cavendish. That means a lock. To have that pressure

:10:27. > :10:30.for a man like Ian Stannard, he drives on it -- thrives on it. He

:10:31. > :10:35.wanted to be a hard race, he wants to be a part of that victory of Mark

:10:36. > :10:40.Cavendish, to be the man that makes a difference. He will be at the

:10:41. > :10:45.front driving it, especially in the desert. Luke Rowe, Dan McLay, but

:10:46. > :10:50.single-handedly, Toby Martin for the Germans, you can contrive a race on

:10:51. > :10:53.his own. Many of these riders ride for Team Sky, a team under close

:10:54. > :10:59.scrutiny after it emerged Bradley Wiggins had received three

:11:00. > :11:03.therapeutic use exemption is for the use of a banned steroid for

:11:04. > :11:07.treatment of asthma in the past and the fact that British cycling is the

:11:08. > :11:10.subject of a UK anti-doping investigation. Here is what Rhode

:11:11. > :11:18.Island with, the team captain, had to say. How much of a distraction

:11:19. > :11:24.has this been? I think anything like that is there in the media, it's

:11:25. > :11:29.where things are focused. I am quite fortunate, seven months a year on

:11:30. > :11:34.the road these last ten days, I've hardly seen anything. I've just been

:11:35. > :11:38.head down, focusing on this event. We stand a good chance of winning.

:11:39. > :11:44.That's my focus and what I've been trying for the lads to do. But

:11:45. > :11:48.you've been embedded in the British team and Team Sky for a number of

:11:49. > :11:52.years. If there was something untoward, is there something that

:11:53. > :11:57.made you uncomfortable, you would know about it, wouldn't you? At the

:11:58. > :12:02.moment there are a lot of stories going around and lots of people's

:12:03. > :12:06.opinion, and journalists are throwing wild accusations out there

:12:07. > :12:10.about us and British cycling and Team Sky. Very few facts have been

:12:11. > :12:16.established. Until all of the facts are down on the table, I think it's

:12:17. > :12:21.out of order, people can talk about it when they don't have all the true

:12:22. > :12:26.facts. Hopefully this investigation will... That's what it's about. I'm

:12:27. > :12:31.in for this to try and do the right thing. I always was from day one,

:12:32. > :12:35.since I finished cycling. It's always been about encouraging young

:12:36. > :12:40.guys to work hard and be the best they can be. I think we've done a

:12:41. > :12:45.good job so far. It's a real shame that there are wild stories out

:12:46. > :12:50.there make it look really bad. Rod Ellingworth, with a long career at

:12:51. > :12:55.Team Sky and British cycling, but it is a very difficult time both for

:12:56. > :13:02.the governing body and the team. It is. Cycling as a whole, the

:13:03. > :13:06.slightest discrepancy or confusion, because it's also very complicated

:13:07. > :13:10.demands a lot of scrutiny, the way the sport has been for 15 years. He

:13:11. > :13:13.is talking about wild accusations, but some of the facts are there for

:13:14. > :13:20.all to see. What was your impression when you realised that these TUEs

:13:21. > :13:26.had been given to Bradley Wiggins ahead of free big races? No

:13:27. > :13:29.suggestion he broken rules. GB having clear that they will push the

:13:30. > :13:35.limits and not break rules. Some athletes really suffer from TUEs and

:13:36. > :13:41.allergies cost of -- from asthma and allergies. It can ruin your day. My

:13:42. > :13:46.opinion is that Bradley Wiggins did push the limits and he wanted to be

:13:47. > :13:51.sure that the big events he wouldn't be affected by the allergies or

:13:52. > :13:56.asthma. Yeah, you know, everybody is trying to take in all of the facts.

:13:57. > :14:00.David, you know these riders well, you have ridden alongside them many

:14:01. > :14:04.times, you've been embedded in British cycling and you served a ban

:14:05. > :14:09.after admitting doping offences in the past. Do you think there is a

:14:10. > :14:13.problem in Team Sky? I don't think so. I trust all of those riders and

:14:14. > :14:19.the staff. Perhaps this is a bigger problem. A TUE is a big problem and

:14:20. > :14:22.there are some products on the list you shouldn't be allowed to use

:14:23. > :14:27.because they have performance enhancing properties. But Team GB is

:14:28. > :14:31.such a leader in the anti-doping movement and these young guys coming

:14:32. > :14:38.through don't deserve to have this scrutiny on them. I trust them.

:14:39. > :14:43.Let's concentrate on today's race. The reigning world champion, Peter

:14:44. > :14:49.Sagan from Slovakia, is one of the most popular guys you will find in

:14:50. > :14:56.the professional pellet on. Peter Sagan, one of life 's great showman.

:14:57. > :15:01.Come the World Championships in Richmond, it was likely have point

:15:02. > :15:06.to prove. The world title is almost within his grasp. He consulted, one

:15:07. > :15:12.hand on the rainbow jersey. This will be a very popular victory.

:15:13. > :15:16.Peter Sagan from Slovakia is world champion. It was evident he was a

:15:17. > :15:24.popular winner but what is about him that makes so loved? He rides with

:15:25. > :15:30.real character, great fun to watch. He takes risks. He is the most

:15:31. > :15:36.popular cyclist in the world, let off the bike. Is engaging,

:15:37. > :15:42.mischievous, and people get value from him on the bike. Peter Sagan,

:15:43. > :15:48.climbing over the biggest mountain is, he descends well, he can sprint,

:15:49. > :15:52.he is the Swiss Army knife of modern bike riders. All sports in need of

:15:53. > :16:04.characters, so how good for cycling is Peter Sagan? I just go to in

:16:05. > :16:08.part. All of the great sports stories are built on characters,

:16:09. > :16:13.drama and emotion. You don't get a bigger in cycling then Peter Sagan.

:16:14. > :16:19.I am happy you support me. Thank you very much. This victory is because

:16:20. > :16:22.also view. No matter how long he's been struggling to get up the

:16:23. > :16:27.mountain in the Tour de France he will still pull a wheelie as he the

:16:28. > :16:32.line. Characters like Peter Sagan are more than just crossing the line

:16:33. > :16:36.first, they are entertainers, fun to watch and they are surprising. The

:16:37. > :16:42.sport would be poorer without him. Cross your fingers for me. Peter

:16:43. > :16:46.Sagan suits the rainbow jersey. He has had an outstanding season and,

:16:47. > :16:54.luckily for us, he's not going anywhere soon. Surely one of the

:16:55. > :16:59.quotes of the day from Chris Morgan, Peter Sagan, the Swiss Army knife of

:17:00. > :17:05.cycling. Yes, he has a full Arsenal on weaponry. He can win sprints,

:17:06. > :17:09.breakaways, you can climb well, he does everything. He is the best

:17:10. > :17:14.rider we have seen in decades. West he loves to animate a race. He is

:17:15. > :17:20.exciting to watch. He puts it all on the line. Very exciting. So many

:17:21. > :17:22.other top names here. The championships have attracted the

:17:23. > :17:32.best. Who are the other main contenders? Michael Matthews, Andre

:17:33. > :17:37.Greipel, Elia Viviani, Tom Bowland. It is a great World Championships.

:17:38. > :17:42.When you look at the German team, we already saw Tony Martin looking in

:17:43. > :17:45.fine form and winning the time trial World Championship. The Germans that

:17:46. > :17:52.they few sprinters but they might be lacking support. But he is a few men

:17:53. > :17:56.out there. When the German team come to the finish, if they have some

:17:57. > :17:59.sprinters there they will be difficult to beat. Whoever deals

:18:00. > :18:02.with this course best, it starts in the desert. We send these guys out

:18:03. > :18:27.to see what the course likes. I was on the windy side protecting

:18:28. > :18:30.you. I was in the gutter. They are going to ride 150 kilometres in the

:18:31. > :18:35.desert. There is a road running parallel, they will go up that, then

:18:36. > :18:40.do a U-turn. You can feel the wind coming from the side. If they have

:18:41. > :18:44.this type of wind, they will have it all the way out, crosswinds, all the

:18:45. > :18:49.way back. It is so technical to be able to ride in the gutter. You have

:18:50. > :18:53.to be technically good. It doesn't matter how good a sprinter you are,

:18:54. > :18:58.you need an incredible team around you. In crosswinds, you rely on your

:18:59. > :19:04.team to protect you. It will be 150 kilometres potentially of hell.

:19:05. > :19:07.Fingers crossed for them it isn't too windy but, for us, fingers

:19:08. > :19:11.crossed it is that it will make for a great race. Let's get out of the

:19:12. > :19:16.desert. I prefer to be in the buildings without all this wind.

:19:17. > :19:19.Traditionally all World Championships take part in a

:19:20. > :19:24.circuit. This year is no different and this is the pearl. That will be

:19:25. > :19:30.the entrance to the circuit. A gorgeous man-made island, quite

:19:31. > :19:33.flat. They will raise seven laps of 15.2 kilometres around the circuit.

:19:34. > :19:43.Plenty of technical hairpins and corners. That wasn't what we

:19:44. > :19:46.expected. On the map, this looks like a hairpin and it's actually a

:19:47. > :19:50.fast, sweeping bend. The boys have been thinking for months. It's not

:19:51. > :19:56.as technical as it looked. Nowhere near. For the sprinters, they will

:19:57. > :20:04.barely touch the pedals. Very much a sprinter's course. That is why I was

:20:05. > :20:09.never a sprinter. I think Rochelle could beat me every time. But this

:20:10. > :20:13.is a sprinter's course. They won't see the finish line until 200 metres

:20:14. > :20:18.to go but, at the same time, they have several laps to check it out.

:20:19. > :20:24.At the finish, if have more men left, it could make a big

:20:25. > :20:29.difference. The road is so wide. Very rarely do sprinters get an

:20:30. > :20:32.opportunity like this, three lanes coming into the final kilometre.

:20:33. > :20:38.There is no reason why it shouldn't be a clean sprint. You think care

:20:39. > :20:48.might be a favourite? -- Mark Cavendish? It has his name all over

:20:49. > :20:53.it. The riders face a long, hot day in the saddle, starting at the

:20:54. > :20:59.Aspire zone in Doha before heading north past the education city, by

:21:00. > :21:04.the Qatar foundation, north, away from the city. All the way up to the

:21:05. > :21:21.sports complex and an into the desert. Where the race heads north,

:21:22. > :21:27.all the way to Abu Yazoul, where they turn around and come back.

:21:28. > :21:35.Heading south back towards the city of Doha. They will travel past the

:21:36. > :21:40.sports complex for a second time, where the World Cup final will take

:21:41. > :21:46.place, and eventually onto the Pearl for seven 15.2 kilometres long laps

:21:47. > :21:52.of the circuit. It's the same circuit used in all of the races

:21:53. > :21:56.this week and eventually, when they reach the finish line, at the end of

:21:57. > :22:02.257.3 kilometres, we will know who is going to -- to wear a coveted

:22:03. > :22:12.rainbow jersey for the next 12 months. So that's the route for

:22:13. > :22:15.today's race. I'm Simon Brotherton. Rochelle Gilmore and David Miller

:22:16. > :22:20.are alongside me. Peter Sagan is here to defend his title, just one

:22:21. > :22:26.of any number of riders who will fancy their chances. Great Britain

:22:27. > :22:29.are well represented. A rare opportunity, David, once more for

:22:30. > :22:33.Mark Cavendish, whose name will appear on the screen now, to become

:22:34. > :22:39.world champion for what would be the second time in his career. Sprinters

:22:40. > :22:46.rarely have a -- and opportunity in the World Championships. It is rare.

:22:47. > :22:49.In the last 15 years, only three opportunities. The first sprinter to

:22:50. > :22:54.have two valid opportunities where they are at the peak for those

:22:55. > :22:58.chances. Mark Cavendish is a rider capable of doing it. It's a big day

:22:59. > :23:01.for him in the British team. Rochelle Gilmore one of the big

:23:02. > :23:09.things, just looking at the commentary box, it is quite windy.

:23:10. > :23:13.You have raced in Qatar with some success, but a flat course makes the

:23:14. > :23:18.difference. Absolutely. That will make today challenging. The first

:23:19. > :23:22.150 kilometres out into the desert, they know it can be challenging. You

:23:23. > :23:27.have to stay so mentally focused. The fact that it's windy out there,

:23:28. > :23:31.I think the winner is going to come from one of the strongest teams, and

:23:32. > :23:33.a sprinter like Mark Cavendish will have to rely on his team-mates to

:23:34. > :23:45.protect him. The riders in the Zone of Doha roll

:23:46. > :23:47.away from the start for the neutralised section of the race,

:23:48. > :24:04.about ten kilometres long. And here we go, the road race is now

:24:05. > :24:07.officially underway. Immediately you can see the acceleration of the

:24:08. > :24:15.peleton once the flag has dropped in the league car as moved away. -- and

:24:16. > :24:27.the lead car. 257.3 kilometres to cover. Ian Stannard already on the

:24:28. > :24:34.front of the main field. There are a few committed riders here, really

:24:35. > :24:41.wanting to get this away. Ukrainian, we saw him in good form in Spain

:24:42. > :24:49.recently. A strong rider, perfect for these scenarios.

:24:50. > :24:57.Adam Blythe, a slight mechanical problem. His computer melt is loose.

:24:58. > :25:08.-- mount. So, six minutes, the gap already for

:25:09. > :25:16.the leading riders, the leading group of seven. Ramirez of Columbia,

:25:17. > :25:24.MacDougall of South Africa, the Mexican, Ukrainian. And Eritrea.

:25:25. > :25:34.Followed by a Moroccan and Ryan Ross of Canada. These riders going almost

:25:35. > :25:37.from when the flag dropped. A small flurry of attacks for five, ten

:25:38. > :25:45.minutes. It didn't take long for it to go. None of the favourites' teams

:25:46. > :25:48.are here, apart from the Colombian team-mate. All of the other

:25:49. > :25:53.favourite teams were happy to see a move like this go in order that they

:25:54. > :26:05.can save their weaponry for later in the race when it's really required.

:26:06. > :26:11.Over eight minutes now for the leading group seven. As you can see,

:26:12. > :26:21.they are heading out into the wide open spaces of the Kalahari desert.

:26:22. > :26:27.They will be shortly. -- the Qatari desert. They will have to

:26:28. > :26:31.communicate with each other and keep each other awake and motivated to

:26:32. > :26:35.keep pushing on, now they have committed to being in this

:26:36. > :26:38.breakaway. You can see a bit of communication between the riders,

:26:39. > :26:39.they will want to motivate each other. Everybody doing their equal

:26:40. > :26:53.share of turns out in the desert. Dan McLay has a slight mechanical

:26:54. > :26:55.problem. Not allowed to pull over on the left-hand side of the road. He

:26:56. > :27:02.just remembered that at the last minute.

:27:03. > :27:11.You will see Great Britain gathering towards the front. Stannard, Luke

:27:12. > :27:32.Rowe, Mark Cavendish, Adam Blythe. A rider for Team Sky. He is with

:27:33. > :27:40.Dimension Data now. Steve Cummings on the front at the moment. With the

:27:41. > :27:52.white helmet. We had our first crash of the day.

:27:53. > :28:01.Chad Hagar of the United States caught up in that, unfortunately. I

:28:02. > :28:15.think that was Bernie Eissel riding a wave, one of the Canadian riders.

:28:16. > :28:21.-- riding away. I think it's Adam De Voss back on his bike. Fortunately

:28:22. > :28:27.it looks as if there is no major damage as a result of that little

:28:28. > :28:32.spill. Sandstorms out there. Looking out of our window on the Pearl,

:28:33. > :28:38.there is quite a lot of wind. It's going to be very interesting. The

:28:39. > :28:41.peloton looks so controlled that it looks like it's still out there, but

:28:42. > :28:49.certainly not. There are some more sandstorms. Going to whack into the

:28:50. > :29:01.peloton by the looks of it. It's a tornado. That's extraordinary. Well,

:29:02. > :29:08.it's windy. The peloton just dodged one. Buried those come on the right

:29:09. > :29:09.side the road. Straight in front -- there it goes, on the right side of

:29:10. > :29:24.the road. Straight in front of them. 720 now the gap. Sitcoming down all

:29:25. > :29:30.the time. You can see the strain on some of

:29:31. > :29:34.the riders' faces. Those Belgian riders loitering near the back of

:29:35. > :29:37.the pelly on the a short while ago are showing their faces at the

:29:38. > :29:49.front. They know that now is the time they need to do it.

:29:50. > :29:53.Look at the battle for the front and for the prime spots on the road.

:29:54. > :29:58.Nobody wants to miss out here. Once the echelons start to form, you want

:29:59. > :30:05.to be in the right form. They make the right-hand turn. Up at the top

:30:06. > :30:11.end of the course now. The British team well placed at the front of the

:30:12. > :30:19.peloton. We saw the Mexican ride frer the break away group having a

:30:20. > :30:27.little bit of difficulty. That rocky landscape must feel like

:30:28. > :30:33.running across the moon as Luke Rowe and Mark Cavendish up at the front

:30:34. > :30:37.here and look at the speed. That's Adam Blyth Blyth at the front

:30:38. > :30:45.there, in second place at the moment.

:30:46. > :30:53.GB with a really strong line up here. Backing Mark Cavendish with

:30:54. > :30:59.Blyth, Cummings, Thomas and Thwaites, as well in there for Team

:31:00. > :31:01.GB. Great Britain and Belgium are

:31:02. > :31:05.asserting some authority at the front of the pelly on the at the

:31:06. > :31:11.moment. -- peloton at the moment. And you

:31:12. > :31:15.can see the potential for splits to start to appear. One of the German

:31:16. > :31:22.riders is having to work hard to close the gap now already.

:31:23. > :31:30.And Great Britain are making life really difficult for everybody else.

:31:31. > :31:35.Look how quickly the gap is whittling down. Look at the

:31:36. > :31:44.difference in the speed between the two groups of riders.

:31:45. > :31:47.Oh, it is really kicking off here, with 176 K to go. The Belgians are

:31:48. > :31:58.making sure they are well placed. Australia have got a rider or two up

:31:59. > :32:02.there. The Italians as well. And this peloton is going to split to

:32:03. > :32:08.pieces here on this stretch of road now and the next one as well.

:32:09. > :32:19.As the peloton turn right and they are beginning to journey south, back

:32:20. > :32:25.down towards Doha. From Mark Cavendish's point of view

:32:26. > :32:36.I think so far, so good. Right up at the front end.

:32:37. > :32:40.Cavendish tucked in there on the second row of riders.

:32:41. > :32:46.Just out the back of the peloton there, one of the Dutch, not sure

:32:47. > :33:03.who that was actually. Dumoulin requiring medical

:33:04. > :33:06.assistance for a flat. He is out the back.

:33:07. > :33:10.Great Britain are working really hard there to make sure they were in

:33:11. > :33:17.the right place at the right time when the race really kicked off and

:33:18. > :33:21.it did and Luke Rowe, as I said a few moments ago, made sure he was at

:33:22. > :33:22.the front of the peloton and they have certainly put the pressure on

:33:23. > :33:38.here. That was the advantage of them being

:33:39. > :33:48.in the front position. It was a little bit of a gamble, sort of a

:33:49. > :33:53.wasting energy so early in the race. There's Doumouulin. You are forced

:33:54. > :33:54.into the gut e the race is in pieces, which is exactly what we

:33:55. > :34:13.wanted. Cavendish is right up there. Everybody has to contribute. I mean

:34:14. > :34:17.looking at Viviani there as well. You have got... Look at it. Really

:34:18. > :34:30.strung out it is only going to get worse for a lot of those riders.

:34:31. > :34:33.Matthews couldn't handle it. He can handle Ewan, he's out of his depth

:34:34. > :34:38.in these conditions, which is what we expected would be the case. They

:34:39. > :34:44.had to risk it because it is an early race. This is what we expected

:34:45. > :34:52.to see in Qatar and we're lucky that the wind is like that today to force

:34:53. > :34:57.it to happen. But I am very surprised that Stanard either kouth

:34:58. > :35:03.out or something happened to him. He will be massively disappointed. Adam

:35:04. > :35:09.Blythe. I am not sure if there are any more riders in there.

:35:10. > :35:13.Mark Cavendish looks relaxed, given he's not had as many team-mates

:35:14. > :35:19.around him as in the early stages of the race. That can be a little bit

:35:20. > :35:22.of a problem. That is Demoulin at the back. A wrong time to get a

:35:23. > :35:26.puncture for him. Ireland represented in the front group as

:35:27. > :35:32.well. Somebody's gone down in a crash. This is what happens. People

:35:33. > :35:36.start to see cross eyed they are going so hard. That is not Sagan, is

:35:37. > :35:39.it? That is a nasty-looking crash. Look at that. It is an American

:35:40. > :36:01.rider. Looks like a collarbone for Marctt.

:36:02. > :36:05.Three riders at least brought down in that one. Belgians, they are

:36:06. > :36:11.there. They are present. They knew exactly a moment ago. Five Belgians.

:36:12. > :36:14.They were super relaxed at the start of the race, weren't they, when GB

:36:15. > :36:20.were taking control and the Australians were up there as well.

:36:21. > :36:23.Now Belgium come to the front, full force. They are really taking

:36:24. > :36:28.control now in the tougher part of the race.

:36:29. > :36:34.The slight issue at the moment is the race radio seems to have

:36:35. > :36:41.disappeared too. Any further involvement in -- information on

:36:42. > :36:47.those involved in crashes we are not receiving any background information

:36:48. > :37:00.at the moment. That looks like Durbridge up at the front.

:37:01. > :37:08.This is one of the things about riding in this, it took me a long

:37:09. > :37:11.time in my career as a sprinter that understanding that rolling through

:37:12. > :37:14.and doing your turn on the front is easier than just trying to hold that

:37:15. > :37:17.position on the edge of the road. So you see the sprinteders, like Mark

:37:18. > :37:31.Cavendish, have rolled over for a turf.

:37:32. > :37:38.One of the riders from Switzerland with the green jersey to his body.

:37:39. > :37:45.Australia still present there. Cannot see much from Germany. No,

:37:46. > :37:49.Germany seems to have been caught out as well. Even if they had a dark

:37:50. > :37:54.red alert, it is Sagan sitting there, pretty. He's fine. GB, I

:37:55. > :38:02.think there are only three riders from GB in there, are there? The

:38:03. > :38:06.Belgians sat at the back. They when they didn't knee need to be at the

:38:07. > :38:12.front. The moment they knew they were needed they attacked it.

:38:13. > :38:18.One of the Dutch riders. It is a wilted struggle at the back for

:38:19. > :38:23.these riders who moments ago were sitting in the peloton comfortably,

:38:24. > :38:27.now they are under pressure. 170kms still to go there.

:38:28. > :38:33.A lot of big riders. In the distance, you can see, there is

:38:34. > :38:38.nothing you can do. This is Darwinism in that the front are in

:38:39. > :38:43.the front. If you cannot get to the second or first group, they are

:38:44. > :38:46.stronger than you. When the race pans out like this, once that group

:38:47. > :38:52.has gone, that is it. You will not see them again, usually. Definitely.

:38:53. > :38:57.A lot of the times, and they will turn into the tail winds soon. Look

:38:58. > :39:01.at the strain on the face there. He knows is the moment he'll have to

:39:02. > :39:07.dig deep. He has to fight for these wheels. And keep rolling over.

:39:08. > :39:12.That is Thomas in trouble as wesmt this is what I feared. That tactic

:39:13. > :39:16.of riding the front in the first section has backfired. They almost

:39:17. > :39:20.needed to mark the Belgians. The Belgians have done what they were,

:39:21. > :39:24.what you expect them to do, which is attack at the key moment. It is not

:39:25. > :39:40.verien If you blow up. If you get yourself,

:39:41. > :39:43.because you can be one of the strongest riders and if you find

:39:44. > :39:48.yourself in the gutter, you are in the wind. You go so deep into the

:39:49. > :39:52.red, so over your threshold that you explode. To recover from that takes

:39:53. > :39:55.a good two or three minutes depending on your fitness. In the

:39:56. > :39:59.mean time you are caught by another group. You cannot launch on to them.

:40:00. > :40:02.By the time you have recovered from that effort from, that explosion you

:40:03. > :40:08.are back three groups. That is what is happening to riders all over the

:40:09. > :40:15.place here. A well-oiled machine the Belgian

:40:16. > :40:20.team looks at this moment in time. In the mean time this is the karnage

:40:21. > :40:32.behind. The rider with his arm in the air, from Italy.

:40:33. > :40:43.The Belgians are very much in control of this at the front.

:40:44. > :40:48.Another motorbike coming up or it is Luke Rowe. The fact is on the radio,

:40:49. > :40:52.it would imply he's had a mechanical. You get yourself caught

:40:53. > :40:57.out and in the wind, you explode and there is nothing you can do about

:40:58. > :41:01.it. These are enormous gaps in such a short space of time. Because it is

:41:02. > :41:06.tail wind all the way to The Pearl, no-one is coming back on. If you are

:41:07. > :41:10.dropped now, it is over. These two groups ahead and up ahead there are

:41:11. > :41:14.more groups. This is pure... There's Tony Martin. That is the first of

:41:15. > :41:19.the Germans on the road, from what we know. It is chaos for us to see

:41:20. > :41:27.what is going on as wesmt this is group one. It is split in two. It

:41:28. > :41:31.has more than likely been dropped from it. They are. They are being

:41:32. > :41:34.distanced. They are being blown off the first group. If it is the first

:41:35. > :41:38.group. No, it isn't. There is another group in front. Look at

:41:39. > :41:41.this. This is probably the fourth group on the road. Ignore that

:41:42. > :41:49.graphic. This is one, two, three, this is the third group on the road

:41:50. > :41:53.right here. Xa an extraordinary turn of events. There's another German

:41:54. > :41:58.rider. There is at least one Belgian rider there in this group. They

:41:59. > :42:02.certainly do have a lot in the front. Got that timing right. Took

:42:03. > :42:07.some nations by surprise. When we look at the front group, be able to

:42:08. > :42:12.see how the Team GB are doing with Mark Cavendish, if he's still in

:42:13. > :42:17.that front group. A hard task for him. So far to go left in the race

:42:18. > :42:24.and having lost so many team-mates in this moment of panic.

:42:25. > :42:29.He's the rider in that small group that everybody will want to drop.

:42:30. > :42:41.He's got a hard task ahead of him. Look at the gap to get up to the

:42:42. > :42:46.next group. Wow! Just to think a few moments ago we were watching a dull

:42:47. > :42:50.race. It is the thing about racing in the desert and with these

:42:51. > :42:54.cross-winds, there is such a very small period of time that you can't

:42:55. > :42:57.afford to lose the wheel and it is all over. It is not like you can

:42:58. > :43:01.take a chance that you just releaks and maybe it will come back together

:43:02. > :43:06.in the desert here in the cross winds, you cannot lose the will. You

:43:07. > :43:10.lose a few centimetres and it is all over. The Belgian team are ripping

:43:11. > :43:26.this up at the front. Belgium in control here. Having a

:43:27. > :43:45.look, Germany with a rider newspaper this riding group.

:43:46. > :44:36.That is the major built up area. They will continue down towards Doha

:44:37. > :44:40.and the party. -- and The Pearl. We saw the Mexican

:44:41. > :44:44.rider drop out of the lead group a little bit earlier on. As soon as

:44:45. > :44:50.they turned right into the wind at the top of the course and he's being

:44:51. > :45:02.swept up by the lead chase group now.

:45:03. > :45:23.I am sure that is Thwaites towards the back.

:45:24. > :45:39.It is the slow veenian rider. -- Slovenia rider. This is the

:45:40. > :45:54.second group... A little swerve. Oh!

:45:55. > :45:59.Got a bash there, but managed to stay upright. It is Durbridge. He

:46:00. > :46:04.stopped. He had a mechanical. I don't know if it was from further

:46:05. > :46:09.forward and they rode into the back of him. That is the thing when you

:46:10. > :46:17.are concentrating on the white line. He took pressure off the pedals and

:46:18. > :46:22.he went straight into him. It was the second group on the road. It

:46:23. > :46:29.looked as if he stopped at the side of the road. There was a collision.

:46:30. > :46:33.He was the guy hit from behind. It wasn't so his fault.

:46:34. > :46:38.Everybody has got their head down and it is so beyond their limit,

:46:39. > :46:43.they have only got their little part they are concentrating on and they

:46:44. > :46:47.cannot see... The British team has been destroyed by the Belgians. They

:46:48. > :46:48.have destroyed them. It is not looking great for either of those

:46:49. > :47:03.two. That was nasty.

:47:04. > :47:06.This is the front of the race. Now we have the little confirmation.

:47:07. > :47:12.There's another crash. Just behind there. Caught a glimpse of a crash

:47:13. > :47:20.further back in this group. I don't think the director has seen it yet.

:47:21. > :47:24.Michael Matthews, yes? He was the right choice for the Australians.

:47:25. > :47:27.Kristoff... The Norwegians have four. All these teams have done a

:47:28. > :47:31.good job. They have known the danger. They have seen where they

:47:32. > :47:41.had to be present and they got up there.

:47:42. > :47:49.Griepel is there as well Most of the people you expect to be there are

:47:50. > :47:58.there. . No, wait, this is group two.

:47:59. > :48:15.As you can see, this is what happens as well. Race over. He's got blood

:48:16. > :48:20.coming out. He collided, but he was able to stay on his bike. He didn't

:48:21. > :48:27.crash. Clearly there was a collision though. He seems to have caught

:48:28. > :48:30.something, punctured himself. The Belgians will keep contributing,

:48:31. > :48:36.even though there are six riders up there. What you see as well, they

:48:37. > :48:42.tend to find their organic size. It is dictated by the width of the

:48:43. > :48:49.road. Each group seems to be made up of about 20 riders. There are about

:48:50. > :48:54.190 peloton is stripped into groups of 15/20 road riders. The strongest

:48:55. > :48:59.at the front and the second strongest on the road... That was a

:49:00. > :49:04.German in the front group who has been picked up, given a spare bike.

:49:05. > :49:06.That might have been that crash we saw before. This is group two,

:49:07. > :49:27.anyway. He didn't touch down. He might have

:49:28. > :49:34.caught it and then he's hit his own stem. Looks like he twisted his body

:49:35. > :49:44.so far around, he hit himself on his bike. It is on the inside... He

:49:45. > :49:56.punctured through his skin. So Adam Blythe, Mark Cavendish, that

:49:57. > :50:02.is all that's left up there now. The GB team only has two riders in this

:50:03. > :50:27.group as far as we know. The Belgians have got...

:50:28. > :50:36.So, yes, they have a pretty good team tlup still.

:50:37. > :51:20.-- team up there still. This is Brian Ramirez from the

:51:21. > :51:27.breakaway. He's obviously crashed. This is not good, and Columbia...

:51:28. > :51:35.Shredded his shorts to pieces. Desert Storm. This is it. Oh, wow.

:51:36. > :51:43.That was a strange crash. Ouch. An awkward fall. I don't think I've

:51:44. > :51:53.ever seen... His front wheel got lifted off the ground. It almost

:51:54. > :51:54.looked like he got blown off. He won't be sitting comfortably for a

:51:55. > :52:10.week or two after that. Well, it's a constantly changing

:52:11. > :52:14.scenario peer -- scenario here, as you can tell. The computer system

:52:15. > :52:22.has given up it's giving us no at all! Which is a tad disappointing.

:52:23. > :52:25.-- no information at all. It's just a blank screen, which is pretty much

:52:26. > :52:28.what the riders at the front are looking at as they look at that

:52:29. > :52:35.Desert Storm. This is the group we need to look at at the moment. As

:52:36. > :52:39.you said, a few kilometres ago, we had no idea what this race was going

:52:40. > :52:43.to turn out like, what it's going to be one of the most boring World

:52:44. > :52:47.Championships ever, and now it's turned into... It was! And now we've

:52:48. > :52:56.got a scenario we've never seen before. The field destroyed so far

:52:57. > :53:02.from the finish. 158 kilometres to go and only 25, 30 riders in the

:53:03. > :53:05.race. Only two British riders in that group. Six Belgians, four

:53:06. > :53:13.Norwegians, three Australians, I think. That is Matt Heymann. Two

:53:14. > :53:19.Australians, just Matt Heymann is Michael Matthews. So is Michael

:53:20. > :53:25.Matthews is going to have one rider, Matt Damon is a good one to have.

:53:26. > :53:31.Adam Blythe is a good driver -- rider for Mark Cavendish to have. He

:53:32. > :53:36.understands the Belgian tactics. He would have known what was going on.

:53:37. > :53:39.His first two years pro was spent racing with the Belgians on their

:53:40. > :53:45.home to rain so he understands how they race. He has probably

:53:46. > :53:48.anticipated what happened. -- on their home to rain. If anybody ought

:53:49. > :53:52.to be able to ride in conditions like this, it is the Belgians. They

:53:53. > :54:00.are giving a masterclass so far today. Had to be expected. We could

:54:01. > :54:04.see the wind picking up and sandstorms, there was talk of that,

:54:05. > :54:12.and the Belgians played it so cool at the start. We saw Tom relaxing

:54:13. > :54:16.Amrabat. -- relaxing down the back. They have done a brilliant job to

:54:17. > :54:21.get so many riders in the front group. A long way from the finish.

:54:22. > :54:28.They'll have to take responsibility, getting riders in their luck Matt

:54:29. > :54:39.Heymann. It's going to be a tactical game into the finish.

:54:40. > :54:45.Their time at the front of the race will be up in the not too distant

:54:46. > :54:51.future. Two and a half minutes and closing rapidly. They are in a rare

:54:52. > :54:56.position now. When their group comes up to them, they'll be able to hang

:54:57. > :55:01.on. The real damage has been done. There will have been 25 kilometres

:55:02. > :55:05.of absolute max out destruction and now it settles into this very high

:55:06. > :55:12.paced, high rhythm, if you like, and you don't have those explosive

:55:13. > :55:16.moments again because it's not physically possible. The team that

:55:17. > :55:20.there are quite happy. Andre Greipel coming through, he isn't where he

:55:21. > :55:25.wanted to be. There are some remnants of the British team. There

:55:26. > :55:35.is Scott Swift. Haven't seen anything of Marcel Kippel. That

:55:36. > :55:41.doesn't really surprise me. We wouldn't really have anticipated...

:55:42. > :56:00.So we are getting a make up of the first group.

:56:01. > :56:09.Out on the course, I was having a chat with the Australian team

:56:10. > :56:13.director, Brad McGee, who said that if any of them make it to the finish

:56:14. > :56:15.of this race, they will be completely legless. It will be a

:56:16. > :56:23.sprint they'll have to do pretty much on their knees. This is the

:56:24. > :56:27.second group at the moment but, in the front group, Mark Cavendish is

:56:28. > :56:33.well protected but still having to work so hard. It's evidence that, if

:56:34. > :56:38.it continues like this for another 30, 40 kilometres, the sprinters are

:56:39. > :56:41.really going to be exhausted by the time they get to the name -- by the

:56:42. > :56:56.time they get to The Pearl. Magnus Corte Nielsen is in that

:56:57. > :57:02.front group. He is a dark horse. Basically, people make up of that

:57:03. > :57:06.front group is the specialists, you'd expect, for these conditions.

:57:07. > :57:11.These are such specialised conditions. There are clear tactics

:57:12. > :57:17.and the type of riders who revel in it. The Belgians being particularly

:57:18. > :57:19.excellent at it, as they are proving. The most represented team

:57:20. > :57:30.up there. Here is the front group. Look at

:57:31. > :57:37.that. Only two team-mates, Peter Sagan, and he's got one of them up

:57:38. > :57:47.there. Just getting confirmation of the make up of the group.

:57:48. > :57:58.Norwegians, to riders as well. The Netherlands, two riders. So you've

:57:59. > :58:05.got Sagan and Michael Cole from Slovakia, Adrian Petit from France

:58:06. > :58:14.and from Belgium Tom Boonen, Jess Glynne colour, -- Jens Keukeleire

:58:15. > :58:24.Lower, Italy well represented, Daniele Bennati. Elia Viviani. Tom

:58:25. > :58:34.Leezer from the Netherlands. The two Norwegians. And then we have

:58:35. > :58:40.Alexander Christoph. And Sam Bennett from Ireland and Magnus Corte from

:58:41. > :58:43.Denmark. A lot of quality in that group. And what a turn of events in

:58:44. > :59:01.a very short space of time. Marcel Kippel is two minutes behind

:59:02. > :59:08.the leading group. He is two minutes behind the Belgians group, the group

:59:09. > :59:15.of six. So Marcel Kittel is behind, I can't see him making him back into

:59:16. > :59:20.the sharp end. And presumably Andre Greipel would be in that group. I

:59:21. > :59:28.think he is further forward. We are looking at the leaders. Group one,

:59:29. > :59:35.55. Group two is 48 seconds behind. Further back, group three will be

:59:36. > :59:41.the Kittel group. And in fact that strip could go all the way along

:59:42. > :59:47.back to group six, seven... 18. It's probably the case at the moment.

:59:48. > :59:52.There probably 18 groups. The early breakaway group are now finally

:59:53. > :59:55.caught, with 145 kilometres to go. Tom Boonen from Belgium leads the

:59:56. > :00:03.Belgian train straight past them. The Olympian champion right on his

:00:04. > :00:08.heels. The initial leading group, which was seven, now have company

:00:09. > :00:11.and they will struggle to hang on to the coat-tails of this for more than

:00:12. > :00:17.a couple of minutes. Ramirez Carranza: Columbia showing the scars

:00:18. > :00:25.of his rather painful crash. -- Ramirez from Columbia. His front

:00:26. > :00:29.wheel lifted up into the air. This is impressive stuff from the Belgian

:00:30. > :00:34.team. Among the big names in this leading group in this race which has

:00:35. > :00:37.gone absolutely mad in the last half an hour or so, the defending

:00:38. > :00:43.champion, Peter Sagan, Mark Cavendish with Adam Blythe, Tom

:00:44. > :00:50.Boonen, Michael Matthews from Australia. The wind has changed and

:00:51. > :00:54.they are in a tailwind because they are not spread across the road. That

:00:55. > :01:00.will make it even more difficult. The group one is the group with

:01:01. > :01:08.Andre Greipel and the leaders of the Belgians.

:01:09. > :01:14.We saw images of Sam Bennett, who was in this front group, did a

:01:15. > :01:19.fantastic group to get into the group. Looked like he was nursing an

:01:20. > :01:24.injury. He may have touched down. We didn't get pictures of that. He's

:01:25. > :01:29.not in that front group now, which is devastating for him. He did look

:01:30. > :01:33.like he was going backwards there. We saw him briefly. It looked like

:01:34. > :01:38.he had a hand injury. He may have had a crash or... It is great for

:01:39. > :01:43.the breakaway riders. They got caught the moment it got into the

:01:44. > :01:50.tail wind. They can sit on the back and get a free ride to The Pearl.

:01:51. > :01:55.When I say a free ride... Not an armchair ride, is it, really? But we

:01:56. > :02:06.know what you mean. And they are just, to prove the

:02:07. > :02:13.point... Is that Kittel in the middle of the road. Griepel there,

:02:14. > :02:21.second in line. An interesting one here is the fact

:02:22. > :02:26.that it is the leaders who are riding. I cannot see them bringing

:02:27. > :02:31.this group back. 53 seconds between the two groups.

:02:32. > :02:39.When they say group one, they mean group two on the road in real terms.

:02:40. > :02:45.Yes. Leaders get, leaders and then, yes...

:02:46. > :02:51.Look at the way guys are dropping back.

:02:52. > :02:56.It is not full on, it is, this chase? That goes to show how big

:02:57. > :03:00.that gap is in real terms on the road. It has taken that long with

:03:01. > :03:05.him essentially slowing down and for them to reel him in. When you've

:03:06. > :03:10.got, and it seems only six riders in the front, seven riders, I see

:03:11. > :03:14.Griepel slotted back in, he's only in eighth position. You can tell

:03:15. > :03:19.with the weaving around on the road. This is not a concerted effort to

:03:20. > :03:25.close this gap. It is not a very business-like... That is it. It is

:03:26. > :03:31.over a kilometres, 52 seconds. It is a long way up the road. They will go

:03:32. > :03:37.over 60 kilometres in these conditions. It is a dot on the

:03:38. > :03:42.horizon. It is a long road. If you are riding at 60 kilometres per

:03:43. > :03:47.hour, which these guys are, you cannot go much faster. Everyone is

:03:48. > :03:51.at their terminal velocity. You need to go into a headwind, because then

:03:52. > :03:54.the front group might start to play around and then you can drive into

:03:55. > :04:00.it and make big differences of speed. A tail wind, a cross-tail is

:04:01. > :04:10.the most dangerous F a gap opens, it is so difficult to close. We saw

:04:11. > :04:17.Sagan taking on two bottles from the vehicle. He's got two bottles there.

:04:18. > :04:21.Moving back through... So this has turned into a kind of, a genius

:04:22. > :04:25.tactical move from the early break away. They are in a position now in

:04:26. > :04:35.the race they would not have been before. They spent a lot of energy.

:04:36. > :04:40.They will now be with the best riders in the world for the final of

:04:41. > :04:46.the World Championships. So that second group, so in this

:04:47. > :04:53.group, this is leaders, we have Mark Cavendish and Blythe for Great

:04:54. > :04:57.Britain. There is Thwaites and Swift, two British riders. We don't

:04:58. > :05:01.know where the rest of the British riders are. They are scattered in

:05:02. > :05:06.groups behind. There we can see the two groups. The leaders on the left.

:05:07. > :05:10.Group one on the right. If they do catch this group, they

:05:11. > :05:13.will race: And they are shaking their heads, because no-one is

:05:14. > :05:17.contributing. There is some confusion. It is not consistent.

:05:18. > :05:20.There are not enough riders committed to bringing this back.

:05:21. > :05:24.Even Griepel there swings over and takes a look. Not prepared to do all

:05:25. > :05:28.the work. And the other riders not coming through to share. That will

:05:29. > :05:32.be very frustrating for them. But working well at the front, in the

:05:33. > :05:36.lead peloton. The Belgians doing the majority of the work. And Tom

:05:37. > :05:40.Boonen, the protected rider of the day. He's pulled a lot of strong

:05:41. > :05:45.turns out here in the front. This is not the front group we are looking

:05:46. > :05:48.at now. This is group one by the graphic. Second group on the road.

:05:49. > :05:53.So you can see, that is it, that I have cracked. That is not coming

:05:54. > :05:57.back now. 55 seconds. So that group one now will wait for the group two,

:05:58. > :06:02.the third group on the road, which is group two in the graphics, come

:06:03. > :06:06.up to them. They have a long wait. They are one minute, 20, behind

:06:07. > :06:09.them. This is going to be hugely disappointing. It is always very

:06:10. > :06:16.disappointing when you get caught out in an echelon like that. After

:06:17. > :06:20.the initial fur flurry, the break up, then you feel great again and

:06:21. > :06:24.you are caught in a group which will not contribute and there is not much

:06:25. > :06:27.you can do. It is as much mental attention as anything else. If you

:06:28. > :06:31.are in the wrong gap or position, this is the third group we are

:06:32. > :06:35.looking at now, called group number two, closing in on group number one,

:06:36. > :06:40.which is second group on the road. They are working a little bit more,

:06:41. > :06:46.better together. There are more riders there contributing. This

:06:47. > :06:51.group is made mainly of domestics and team-mates trying to get to

:06:52. > :06:56.their leaders. That is why the second group, you see them riding

:06:57. > :07:01.themselves because they have to, nobody else is contributing. There

:07:02. > :07:05.are riders in there which have riders in the leader's group who

:07:06. > :07:12.don't want to help. It turns into a tactical and frustrating game.

:07:13. > :07:16.The Spanish... Their leader today, there you go. They are trying to

:07:17. > :07:21.keep this rolling through. What has happened to Adam Blythe? It is the

:07:22. > :07:26.leader's group: Oh, I got confused there!

:07:27. > :07:30.Mark Cavendish cannot afford to lose his one team-mate in that group. All

:07:31. > :07:33.the groups, apart from, can they are finding their rhythm now. It is

:07:34. > :07:37.stabilising everywhere. And think I that is because it is simply so

:07:38. > :07:41.fast. Here we have the Griepel group. This is chasing the leader's

:07:42. > :07:45.group. Have they found more momentum again? I think some riders have gone

:07:46. > :07:48.back and shouted at others. Again Griepel comes through. Nobody is on

:07:49. > :07:54.his wheels. His team-mate comes up. That is it. What you need is all,

:07:55. > :07:58.well 20 of those riders rotating in one big rotation. At the moment it

:07:59. > :08:00.is not happening. After every three riders come through, somebody else

:08:01. > :08:04.doesn't go through. It breaks the rhythm. People are trust traited.

:08:05. > :08:10.They don't work with each other and it slows the pace down. Riders peel

:08:11. > :08:15.off into the middle of the road like Kittel. He's shaking has his head.

:08:16. > :08:23.Even maybe he's saying, I don't think it will happen. You cannot

:08:24. > :08:27.give up. That is the thing. So, it is one minute and two seconds

:08:28. > :08:34.between the two first groups on the road. This is the first group.

:08:35. > :08:39.Greg Van Avermaet. Belgians with six riders in this group. A significant

:08:40. > :08:44.group with the tail wind back to The Pearl. These riders are working

:08:45. > :08:50.welling to and they have all the incentive to keep the pressure on

:08:51. > :08:53.the pedals. Like you said, they are the team leaders who have to do the

:08:54. > :08:57.work for themselves and maybe there is a point soon when they say, OK,

:08:58. > :09:02.let's sit up and wait for group number three to catch up and we will

:09:03. > :09:07.see if we can take our chance. The only hope is if this team were to

:09:08. > :09:11.sit up and play cat and mouse. Which I don't think will happen. The

:09:12. > :09:16.Belgians, you see there are too many riders in this to keep the group up

:09:17. > :09:20.the road. Why make it bigger? The Belgians obviously this is a great

:09:21. > :09:26.opportunity for them. Six riders, I mean they can control this group.

:09:27. > :09:31.They can launch offence. I imagine if this group is up behind... And

:09:32. > :09:43.the world champion will come out of this group again, they can play

:09:44. > :09:49.different tactical games. They can launch attacks on The Pearl. Even

:09:50. > :09:55.Tom Boonen will not trust his ability to beat Cavendish in the

:09:56. > :10:00.sprint. Boonen has come through for good turns too. When they get close

:10:01. > :10:03.tore the finish he will question how fresh the legs are of Mark

:10:04. > :10:10.Cavendish, who has been riding quite smart at the moment. He's well

:10:11. > :10:14.protecte focussed. Not to miss that move. He was there and that was

:10:15. > :10:20.probably the hardest task of the day. Now he's... ... Oil in his

:10:21. > :10:26.chain. He's in the biggest gear and he's spinning like that. It must be

:10:27. > :10:33.65 k an hour. Over 40 miles per hour. That is why everyone is giving

:10:34. > :10:37.off that sort of impression of being slightly relaxed because everybody

:10:38. > :10:41.is in their biggest gear. You cannot go much faster. They are at the

:10:42. > :10:45.terminal velocity and the damage has been done. It will be difficult to

:10:46. > :10:49.fix it. Well you hear us in the commentary

:10:50. > :10:55.box talking about raises radio. What is it? We went with the voice of

:10:56. > :11:03.radio in one of the earlier races this week to find out. So radio the

:11:04. > :11:07.radio for all of the team cars but also the commentators. The idea is

:11:08. > :11:11.to give out information on the race, throughout the race, to the finish

:11:12. > :11:16.on what happens, who are the riders, concerned by the breakaway. The

:11:17. > :11:19.gaps. If I see a rider suffering a puncture, I will call the car. The

:11:20. > :11:23.idea is to give out short sentences on what goes on and call a car if

:11:24. > :11:30.necessary. So this is the office of Radio Tour

:11:31. > :11:35.H is how it works. I basically work with this headset. I work with a

:11:36. > :11:39.pedal. So basically when I press on the pedal and I speak, everyone

:11:40. > :11:46.hears me. I have to be careful with what I do with my foot, basically.

:11:47. > :11:50.The challenge of every race is to stay focussed all the time. I cannot

:11:51. > :11:57.stop being focussed because anything can happen at any moment.

:11:58. > :12:04.A crash, a crash in the pack on the right-hand side. Be careful behind.

:12:05. > :12:09.Several riders on the ground. Race radio helps commentators. If you

:12:10. > :12:12.have a break away it established how many riders there are and who it is.

:12:13. > :12:17.It clarifies that quickly I tells you thinks going on within the race.

:12:18. > :12:22.You can hear everything that the team cars can hear.

:12:23. > :12:29.USA, mechanical problem for one of your riders. These are the two

:12:30. > :12:35.motorbikes, these are the two guys who give me information on what goes

:12:36. > :12:38.on at the front. Most of the drivers and the guys on the motorbikes are

:12:39. > :12:42.former riders. It is really important to know how a rider will

:12:43. > :12:50.react and how to drive next to a pack. The guy driving this car rode

:12:51. > :12:56.the Tour de France on several occasions and wore the yellow

:12:57. > :13:00.jersey. I give out the information and it goes to this lady here, who

:13:01. > :13:04.is the black board girl. All the information goes on the black board.

:13:05. > :13:10.She shows this to the riders so they know the gap is one minute 30 or 30

:13:11. > :13:15.seconds. I am always behind pack. That is where I see things in the

:13:16. > :13:19.best possible way and because the pack becomes the leader's group. In

:13:20. > :13:23.12 years of doing this I have never seen the finish of a race because we

:13:24. > :13:29.are behind the pack. I tend not to see what goes on at the front. A

:13:30. > :13:34.nice look behind the scenes there. Let's get back to the race now. At

:13:35. > :13:36.last the leaders coming to The Pearl, heading on to the finishing

:13:37. > :13:48.Sir it is. Seven laps of this circuit.

:13:49. > :13:54.The way the circle is laid out they will catch glimpse. There are

:13:55. > :13:58.roundabouts and all sorts. It will play mind tricks on both groups

:13:59. > :14:02.because you will see, they will be able to see quite quickly because a

:14:03. > :14:07.good bike racer can look at a group and get the feeling of how that

:14:08. > :14:11.group is operating. If this group... What I would do now if I was the

:14:12. > :14:16.Belgians is put all six on the front for this first lap, so each time the

:14:17. > :14:20.chasing group came through they would see the Belgians leading and

:14:21. > :14:24.think, we don't have a chance. That would start to blow the minds of the

:14:25. > :14:28.chasing group and they would give up one by one. You want to create that

:14:29. > :14:33.seed of doubt in that group. As soon as they have cracked, because that

:14:34. > :14:37.is when you crack them, let that group go to two or three minutes and

:14:38. > :14:41.then they can put more of an order. The last thing the Belgians would

:14:42. > :14:45.want to do is allow Germany back in through the back door. Can't do

:14:46. > :14:53.that. This is the perfect mission for the

:14:54. > :14:59.moment from Belgium. Belgium they have got rid of Griepel and others.

:15:00. > :15:04.So far they couldn't have wished for a better scenario. Germany have

:15:05. > :15:07.three fantastic riders who would be desperate to get back into the

:15:08. > :15:11.reckoning of this race and would be a major problem for all the riders

:15:12. > :15:17.as a the front if they were to join that group. Look at this group. We

:15:18. > :15:28.have four Belgians, two/three Norwegians up there.

:15:29. > :15:34.Just so you can show that for the first lap or so and that will mess

:15:35. > :15:39.with their heads and then we can sit back and play it tactically. Mark

:15:40. > :15:46.Cavendish is very much in contention here in this men's road race, a

:15:47. > :15:51.title which he won in Copenhagen in 2011. Very much so. This is almost a

:15:52. > :15:55.perfect scenario for him. He would have preferred to have his team

:15:56. > :16:01.there but, at the same time, he knows Belgium are going to control

:16:02. > :16:05.it. Their leader will be Tom Boonen. They will play games. Norway are

:16:06. > :16:09.well presented and the Italians, so he can play off their work. That's

:16:10. > :16:13.what Peter Sagan is going to have to do. He's got one team-mate up there,

:16:14. > :16:18.so he is in the same position as Cavendish. Peter Sagan started with

:16:19. > :16:21.only two team-mates and Mark Cavendish started with eight but

:16:22. > :16:24.they are both down to one now, so they will both have to play

:16:25. > :16:29.tactically. Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish are both following

:16:30. > :16:34.incredibly strong athletes, very tactically astute. They won't panic.

:16:35. > :16:37.Mark will not be panicking and neither will be Peter Sagan. They

:16:38. > :16:50.will have to figure out how they are going to play this.

:16:51. > :17:03.The first chase group, that with Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel. The

:17:04. > :17:05.Belgians are keeping the pace on. People hesitating because they don't

:17:06. > :17:12.want to go through and contribute and it's causing splinters.

:17:13. > :17:15.Tempers are starting to fray here. People are starting to get

:17:16. > :17:21.frustrated and angry with each other. Daniele Bennati in fourth.

:17:22. > :17:25.They all looked across, having a look at what the other group is

:17:26. > :17:29.doing, and they will have done the same. That little glance is trying

:17:30. > :17:35.to read what's going on. They will have seen the gap at the front, with

:17:36. > :17:39.Andre Greipel chasing. With the Belgians. The Belgians will think

:17:40. > :17:43.they've got it under control. He is coming around the Belgian rider to

:17:44. > :17:46.shut down the American. You can imagine the psychological warfare.

:17:47. > :17:51.When they see Belgian controlling the front, and then Belgium shutting

:17:52. > :17:58.down the front of their group... It's a mess, isn't it, that second

:17:59. > :18:03.group. Totally. That's thanks to the tactics of Belgium being up there

:18:04. > :18:05.and controlling it. It's not because they're two team-mates missed that

:18:06. > :18:08.move and will be feeling bad they are not up there with their

:18:09. > :18:11.team-mates, they realise it is better that they are there and can

:18:12. > :18:21.get in the way of the chase. Neither of them are going to ride through.

:18:22. > :18:26.Second wheel... Andre Greipel looks under his arm and sees another

:18:27. > :18:30.Belgian rider. Very angry. I don't see Marcel Kittel coming to the

:18:31. > :18:36.front now. The Belgian swings back in again. You see? It's too easy for

:18:37. > :18:40.the Belgians. They are getting angry. The Austrian rider is going

:18:41. > :18:45.to have a go. It's going to be even more frustrating for the riders of

:18:46. > :18:50.the German team when they see that and they just keep shaking their

:18:51. > :18:55.heads. Nothing they can do can fall into place or pick up momentum. It's

:18:56. > :18:59.a bad state of play, when Andre Greipel is the man doing the work in

:19:00. > :19:03.that group, with over 100 kilometres still to go, and this is a guy who

:19:04. > :19:09.could win the World Championships. At the start, he could. Yes, that

:19:10. > :19:15.whole group is now being controlled by the Belgians, two riders

:19:16. > :19:18.controlling 25. They are just wearing them down psychologically,

:19:19. > :19:21.and that's why it's important for the Belgians to have their riders in

:19:22. > :19:27.the brunt of this circuit, for the first lap at least, so the other

:19:28. > :19:30.guys, their heads will drop. -- in the front of this circuit. They are

:19:31. > :19:36.controlling it on all fronts. Psychological warfare out there. We

:19:37. > :19:45.are going into the final 100 kilometres in this race. It is in

:19:46. > :19:49.pieces. That's what we wanted, a bit of wind today out in the desert to

:19:50. > :19:56.shake things up a bit, and the Belgian team certainly did shake it

:19:57. > :20:00.up. It was a phenomenal macro the group behind is in a mess still.

:20:01. > :20:06.They are all over the place, attacking each other. He's banging

:20:07. > :20:11.his head against a brick wall. He loves it. He won't get much love

:20:12. > :20:20.from the others when they rejoin him. He will be Mr popular.

:20:21. > :20:28.On the back of that group from Ireland, Sam Bennett. He'll be

:20:29. > :20:30.gutted. He'd made it into that from split, that leaders group, and he

:20:31. > :20:33.couldn't hang on for whatever reason. -- he made it that front

:20:34. > :20:50.split. A Swiss rider. Michael Schar, I think. It's going

:20:51. > :20:55.up a bit, that gap. That is the riders in the second group on the

:20:56. > :20:59.road in group one. Coming to the realisation they are just not

:21:00. > :21:02.getting it together, so they are splitting, the riders who have

:21:03. > :21:07.something left in their legs, taking their chance at jumping across. It

:21:08. > :21:12.is a very big task with the calibre of riders out there in front.

:21:13. > :21:16.Seemingly impossible. These are the final death throes of this group.

:21:17. > :21:20.When the little attacks start going, that's just before it completely

:21:21. > :21:23.dies, because it shows the momentum has gone, people are not working

:21:24. > :21:30.well together, people are taking these desperate moves. I mean, look

:21:31. > :21:34.is all closing down. This is the group, Michael Schar attacking,

:21:35. > :21:50.grouping up like that. It's done. Australia still represented further

:21:51. > :21:59.up the road in the front group. We are just looking at Mitch Docker.

:22:00. > :22:07.If this second group on the road, which they call group one on the

:22:08. > :22:11.screen, if they give up and they sit up, like David said, there will only

:22:12. > :22:15.be a small number of people finishing this race at the World

:22:16. > :22:20.Championships, and probably not what we predicted at the start of the day

:22:21. > :22:26.on get flat course in Doha. Especially after watching yesterday.

:22:27. > :22:29.Up to the finish, where not many riders will drop throughout the

:22:30. > :22:34.race. A slightly different course, given they didn't go out into the

:22:35. > :22:39.desert, just on the circuit. Being dead flat, we assume is going to be

:22:40. > :22:43.a bunch sprint, like everybody said, but this is a smaller group than

:22:44. > :22:49.many predicted. What crazy about this, and this is bike racing

:22:50. > :22:53.completely, there are 257 kilometres racing today and the race happened

:22:54. > :22:58.in five kilometres, the initial part. If they didn't have

:22:59. > :23:03.crosswinds, we would have been arriving here with 190 riders. It is

:23:04. > :23:07.such a tactical game, bike racing. You look at the map and you see

:23:08. > :23:11.where that's going to happen and that's the only point to focus on.

:23:12. > :23:15.The two kilometres before that corner and then be ready for a one

:23:16. > :23:20.kilometre effort after that. So you had three kilometres where you had

:23:21. > :23:23.to be game on, and so many people missed it. It looks like these

:23:24. > :23:29.riders are being pulled off the course. That is the Dan Stannard

:23:30. > :23:39.group. That is the fourth group in a row.

:23:40. > :23:46.The day has ended early for a sizeable proportion of the number of

:23:47. > :23:47.riders in the field here. Some big names in there, some talented

:23:48. > :24:01.riders. Hopefully a quick change so they can

:24:02. > :24:08.get straight back into the race. Not so quick at the moment,

:24:09. > :24:13.unfortunately. There you go. A good convoy. Because of the nature of

:24:14. > :24:19.this circuit with all of the turns and roundabouts, it means the cars

:24:20. > :24:25.are often slowed down. It's also possible you carry debris from the

:24:26. > :24:30.desert on your tyres. Andre Greipel on the attack on the second group.

:24:31. > :24:34.They got out to one minute 50 seconds before he decided to have a

:24:35. > :24:41.go, and guess who is on his tail. The Belgians. Tony Martin, his work

:24:42. > :24:49.done for the day. Two gold medals from his week's work. It looks like

:24:50. > :24:54.he's getting supplies to ride back to the hotel. The Belgian riders are

:24:55. > :24:59.quick to come to the front to join in and then break it up. In a way,

:25:00. > :25:03.it's almost been better, when we saw the race falling to pieces during

:25:04. > :25:06.the crosswinds, we saw one of the Belgian riders cause a split and

:25:07. > :25:10.pull off Harper Lee. He must have seemed that he had so many

:25:11. > :25:16.team-mates ahead in the group that he pulled the left. It's ingenious.

:25:17. > :25:19.He goes, I could force a split and not move it. That's quite advanced

:25:20. > :25:24.racing to do that in those conditions. If they had the full

:25:25. > :25:27.team up there, they'd have no team-mates behind the block was the

:25:28. > :25:35.so they've got a bunch of strong riders in the front group. Was there

:25:36. > :25:38.a crash? Scott Thwaites. That is in the second group. It looks like he's

:25:39. > :25:47.OK. That's exactly the corner we saw

:25:48. > :25:52.before where Daniele Bennati came ripping round and Jens Keukeleire

:25:53. > :25:56.came round behind and said, don't go that fast. The Belgian riders just

:25:57. > :26:01.policing it so well. It's almost like they are in a track race,

:26:02. > :26:04.looking their shoulders. That in itself, like I said, if those

:26:05. > :26:08.Belgian riders haven't been there and they've had their full team up

:26:09. > :26:11.the front, this group would have had more momentum, but they have served

:26:12. > :26:16.an equally important role for the team of the riders up the front with

:26:17. > :26:21.Tom Boonen, causing these guys to ride defensively behind. Scott

:26:22. > :26:29.Thwaites safely back. It goes John Degenkolb again. And the Belgians,

:26:30. > :26:35.and Mitch Docker behind them. Two minutes, the gap, starting to make

:26:36. > :26:39.that move. Well, at least they are not giving up. That shows the

:26:40. > :26:43.calibre of the riders. It's a hell of a time trial to close a

:26:44. > :26:46.two-minute gap if nobody is going to help pupils the it will be a

:26:47. > :26:52.struggle. You can't fully commit ever because you have got a Belgian

:26:53. > :26:56.rider on your wheel. They will not help because they will be annoyed by

:26:57. > :27:00.riders from other groups. What the point of doing a two-minute time

:27:01. > :27:08.trial to close a gap if it is going to drop you immediately? The

:27:09. > :27:12.selection was made a long way out in this race. 184 kilometres from the

:27:13. > :27:17.finish. Almost exactly 100 kilometres ago. So that is how long

:27:18. > :27:24.the race has been on for. All these splits happened in the space of two,

:27:25. > :27:32.three kilometres. Adam Blythe making it back on. There you go, that is

:27:33. > :27:38.John Degenkolb being angry with the Belgian riders for doing their job.

:27:39. > :27:44.Yeah, the Belgian riders in the chase group have done a fabulous job

:27:45. > :27:48.of frustrating the momentum. Chasing down John Degenkolb again. He's not

:27:49. > :27:58.going to throw his bottle at them, is he? He squirted it. That's

:27:59. > :28:05.fantastic. Oh, come on, John! . -- what does he expect the Belgian

:28:06. > :28:10.rider to do? The job of the Belgian riders, only doing what they are

:28:11. > :28:13.supposed to do. They are in control. I like John Degenkolb, he's a great

:28:14. > :28:20.guy, but you can see how you lose your mind. Such unexpected behaviour

:28:21. > :28:24.from John Degenkolb. You wouldn't expect it from anybody. I thought it

:28:25. > :28:28.was just fun and jokes between two mates but then you could see he

:28:29. > :28:34.raised his hands in frustration. It's still going on. Turning round,

:28:35. > :28:37.shaking his at him. John Degenkolb has lost the plot. Now the Belgians

:28:38. > :28:42.are going to rub it in. He's going to stick to his wheel. It's perfect.

:28:43. > :28:47.It's exactly what I'd do. Look, he's just not stopping. Let's see if we

:28:48. > :29:00.can hear it. No, we can't hear it. Very strange behaviour from John

:29:01. > :29:04.Degenkolb. That is just the role of the Belgian team. That's what they

:29:05. > :29:12.have the right to do. You lose your mind after a while. But, second up,

:29:13. > :29:20.he will probably get fined for that. -- the commerce there coming up. He

:29:21. > :29:25.is doing his job and doing it exceptionally well, to the point

:29:26. > :29:33.where he has closed that group down Jens Debusschere getting an earful

:29:34. > :29:36.and I fall from John Degenkolb. With most of the Belgian team at the

:29:37. > :29:41.front of the race, I've no idea what John Degenkolb expects Jens

:29:42. > :29:47.Debusschere to do. We haven't had any information. One assumes they

:29:48. > :29:54.did just all miss that breakaway at the vital moment and there wasn't a

:29:55. > :29:57.mechanical issue at an important juncture. It's interesting that all

:29:58. > :30:03.three of them would there, which implies they couldn't make it. There

:30:04. > :30:09.was no clear attack from any team. It was the perfect crosswind. They

:30:10. > :30:13.were there. They were in the first 40, the right place, but you needed

:30:14. > :30:18.to be in the first 20 and that was the problem. Such a perfect

:30:19. > :30:21.crosswind that, even when they did the final right-hander, they still

:30:22. > :30:25.looked reasonably safe in the tail would section. Then they just

:30:26. > :30:30.started to drop. -- the tailwind section. One minute you think you

:30:31. > :30:34.are safe but then riders start popping out everywhere. That's

:30:35. > :30:38.what's happened. Mark Cavendish was right at the front, Tom Boonen, all

:30:39. > :30:46.these guys. The 20 riders who made it.

:30:47. > :30:58.He did ride himself into the ground. When he needed people to join in and

:30:59. > :31:04.help the chase there was virtually nobody there. There's Kittel. One of

:31:05. > :31:10.those who would have travelled out to Qatar with hopes of claiming the

:31:11. > :31:13.Rainbow jersey. There is a rider suffer from the effects of the heat

:31:14. > :31:21.and the effort and the disappointment. He's upset. He's

:31:22. > :31:30.genuinely gutted. 35.6kms to go. One of these riders in the picture now

:31:31. > :31:35.will become the 2016 world road race champion. Blythe and Cavendish are

:31:36. > :31:56.in this group. The notable absentees, all of the German riders.

:31:57. > :32:05.No Kittel, no Griepel. Sagan is in this group, of Slovakia.

:32:06. > :32:10.France have got a couple of riders in the group, they have Bonnet.

:32:11. > :32:17.There's Bonnet there we are looking at.

:32:18. > :32:21.I am sure Bonnet didn't expect himself to be this the World

:32:22. > :32:26.Championship with the weight of the nation on his shoulders. Neither of

:32:27. > :32:39.the designated ones have made they way into it.

:32:40. > :32:50.A big shift from some of these Belgian riders.

:32:51. > :32:54.Of all the stars in the lead group, in your opinion which would be the

:32:55. > :32:58.most confident with the way the race has played out, and their position

:32:59. > :33:02.at the moment? Mark Cavendish would have to be pretty confident with how

:33:03. > :33:10.things have gone until this point. Obviously Sagan as well. It is

:33:11. > :33:15.difficult to say. Boonen, obviously because he's controlling the race.

:33:16. > :33:19.He decides if they ride, he could decide right now, stop riding guys

:33:20. > :33:23.and the whole thing would stop moving. He's in control of

:33:24. > :33:27.everything and his confidence and abilities. I think for Cavendish he

:33:28. > :33:33.will be happy to have Blythe there. He's been in the wheels, which has

:33:34. > :33:40.been exceptionally hard. He's not had to exert himself yet apart from

:33:41. > :33:45.the perfect moment, which he did. Couldn't have executed better. Hence

:33:46. > :33:48.why he's here in this group. It is the same for Peter Sagan, Michael

:33:49. > :33:52.Matthews, Kristoff. Think I they are all in a bit of a stalemate at the

:33:53. > :33:57.moment. At the moment it is as if, as it stands, you get the impression

:33:58. > :34:02.Belgium, Italy and Norway want to take it to the line for a sprint, in

:34:03. > :34:08.which case you are like, OK, it will be a real proper sprint and we will

:34:09. > :34:16.see who is the best and best today. And that will be quite the match

:34:17. > :34:19.with Michael Matthews, Peter Sagan, Viviani, Cavendish. You cannot

:34:20. > :34:23.predict that. I mean you could, you could say Mark

:34:24. > :34:27.Cavendish. But at the same time it is a long race. Some others will

:34:28. > :34:33.fancy their races. If Kristoff has got his team up there, if Boonen is

:34:34. > :34:37.continuing to let Belgium ride like this, he's obviously confident.

:34:38. > :34:43.Kristoff might not have the speed of Cavendish. He's a good spread

:34:44. > :34:48.sprinter. This has been a long, hard day, it is often where Boonen excels

:34:49. > :34:54.and we have seen Mark Cavendish do the same. The current form from Tom

:34:55. > :35:03.Boonen would dictate he's the man of the moment. He's beaten Mark

:35:04. > :35:11.Cavendish. He's beaten Kristoff. He's beaten others.

:35:12. > :35:18.Michael Matthews will be less, he's younger. At the moment they are

:35:19. > :35:21.playing the same tactic. The Belgian team must have high morale after

:35:22. > :35:25.their success at the Olympic Games. They knew they had the ability to

:35:26. > :35:31.win that gold medal, but to walk away with it, obviously a lot of

:35:32. > :35:36.celebrations and great morale amongst the Belgian team. That was

:35:37. > :35:44.not necessarily the train where you would have expected Belgium to win.

:35:45. > :35:48.It was a physically demanding race. I wonder what Peter Sagan was

:35:49. > :35:51.thinking that night, whether he, once he saw the result of that race,

:35:52. > :35:54.whether he thought, maybe I could have done that after all, maybe that

:35:55. > :36:00.course was doable? That is a decision you have to make.

:36:01. > :36:15.There was a gamble on that one taken by Greg Van Avermaet.

:36:16. > :36:18.Peter had ridden the test road. He essentially trained and worked for a

:36:19. > :36:21.year for that one race, which is, it takes a lot of courage and

:36:22. > :36:28.confidence to do that. Yes, it paid off. He's a pretty quick finisher,

:36:29. > :36:34.isn't he, Avermaet. I saw him outsprinteding Sagan for the stage

:36:35. > :36:38.win, just the two of them. He did it resentment in Quebec and Montreal.

:36:39. > :36:42.Sagan won the first one and it was Greg Van Avermaet who beat Sagan in

:36:43. > :36:48.the second one. It was only a month ago. We know Avermaet and Sagan, it

:36:49. > :36:54.is not the first time they have got one-twos. Greg Van Avermaet is a

:36:55. > :37:00.great all rounder. So, in that way you could describe

:37:01. > :37:07.Peter Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet as best all-rounders.

:37:08. > :37:10.What a job he has done for Belgium today. That was a very impressive

:37:11. > :37:26.shift. Looks like he is relaxed. No facial

:37:27. > :37:35.expressions. It is clear he's emptied the tank if he just shuts it

:37:36. > :37:44.down like that. That makes it interesting because Oliver Nasen is

:37:45. > :37:55.looking tired address well. -- Naesen is looking tired as well.

:37:56. > :38:05.Meanwhile Avermaet it ises near the back. Sagan just behind him.

:38:06. > :38:09.I can see everybody now getting a bit of the jitters, getting close to

:38:10. > :38:15.the finish. Two laps to go. We would probably have expected a few attacks

:38:16. > :38:20.to have gone before this point. The Belgian team keeping the pace high.

:38:21. > :38:51.A lot of pace put into Tom Boonen for today.

:38:52. > :38:59.We are inside the final two laps here on The Pearl. We have a sizable

:39:00. > :39:03.leading group. Any of these could become the world champion. We still

:39:04. > :39:07.have remnants from the early break away among these elite riders here.

:39:08. > :39:27.Hanging in at the front end of the race. That has been as dumb -- has

:39:28. > :39:33.been a bizarre day for them. Roth, from Canada. Two riders at the back,

:39:34. > :39:35.they were in that early break away. Dougall is there also from South

:39:36. > :39:52.Africa. The shadows are growing longer with

:39:53. > :40:00.every passing minute now. The fierce heat of the day just

:40:01. > :40:08.eases in Doha. It is now just hot rather thanes by

:40:09. > :40:30.teringly so. -- rather than blisteringly so.

:40:31. > :40:52.Belgian TV is hovering before he's had a chance to have a drink. The

:40:53. > :40:59.second group on the road here, still chugging along.

:41:00. > :41:09.And very shortly they'll have two laps to go over the line this time.

:41:10. > :41:18.Griepel in the group, Thwaites of Great Britain and Ben Swift as well.

:41:19. > :41:27.A big, big gap between this group and those at the front of the race.

:41:28. > :41:37.So very much minor placings will be up for grabs for these riders.

:41:38. > :41:43.Sitting on the back of that group is the younger brother of Peter Sagan.

:41:44. > :42:10.Slovakia have a full compliment in the race. All three riders.

:42:11. > :42:18.Inside the last couple of laps now, this road racing championship. Can

:42:19. > :42:22.Mark Cavendish land the title for the second time in his career? Will

:42:23. > :42:26.it be his day? Britain with two cards to play here in this leading

:42:27. > :42:33.group. A long, long day in the saddle.

:42:34. > :42:43.257.3kms the distance. It was out in the desert where the damage was

:42:44. > :42:49.really done. Looks like Viviani going back to the

:42:50. > :42:54.team car for instructions, or is he looking for fluids. He seemed

:42:55. > :42:58.nervous to be. Repeatedly going back, hovering up and down the

:42:59. > :43:02.group. It can work both ways. It can mean he's feeling good and is

:43:03. > :43:09.nervous because of that, or he's just confused.

:43:10. > :43:15.He's gone back to get some more... Get some more direction from the

:43:16. > :43:20.team director in the car. Calm down! It is interesting because some

:43:21. > :43:24.athletes don't want communication in the final 30-40 minutes of the race,

:43:25. > :43:38.but he's just taken on some food as well. That is not a great sign, is

:43:39. > :43:41.it? It is a motivational chat there. He's looking good, Viviani. He's

:43:42. > :43:45.looking smooth and in control on the bike.

:43:46. > :43:50.At the moment, all the leaders, they have got the same workload under the

:43:51. > :44:00.belt. Since the initial split, where they were all contributing and Tom

:44:01. > :44:04.Boonen, 160 K ago, they have all sat on the wheels as Belgium and Italy

:44:05. > :44:09.have done the work. They have not had a chance, normally if it is a

:44:10. > :44:12.heavy course, you see who is feeling good on the climb, you can tell by

:44:13. > :44:17.their pedalling action, their body language. At the moment none of the

:44:18. > :44:19.leaders will know how well each is going, unless somebody has cracked

:44:20. > :44:31.and you can see that, which co you can.

:44:32. > :44:40.But because dumb of the nature of the surface, it is difficult to see

:44:41. > :44:47.if somebody is suffering or not. A good ride from the Moroccan as

:44:48. > :44:54.well to hang in this group. Number 156 who has been in the lead

:44:55. > :45:00.group all the way through the race. The closer they come to the finish

:45:01. > :45:03.now, 23.5 kilometres to go. Mark Cavendish's confidence must be

:45:04. > :45:08.building without those attacks that we are predicting to come at some

:45:09. > :45:16.point, the further they get, close tore the finish, the more confident

:45:17. > :45:18.Mark Cavendish will be. He's been well positioned and well focussed.

:45:19. > :45:31.Having a look around now. Mark Cavendish is almost always in

:45:32. > :45:36.the drops, that lower position. He keeps himself smaller. Over a

:45:37. > :45:41.shortish race, that wouldn't make much difference but, when you have

:45:42. > :45:45.been in the wheels for that long, that micro-difference it will make,

:45:46. > :45:50.making you more aerodynamic, that adds up. Those of the details Mark

:45:51. > :45:53.Cavendish thinks about. It isn't that comfortable but, holding that

:45:54. > :46:01.for hours on end, it a lot of training and work and discipline. He

:46:02. > :46:02.has a very small frontal area when he gets down into that sprinting

:46:03. > :46:17.position, Cavendish. No sign of any liveliness from the

:46:18. > :46:26.front of the leading group at the moment. Not yet. Some very

:46:27. > :46:30.disciplined, controlled. It's still a high pace, the way wit around

:46:31. > :46:34.these roundabouts and corners. That goes to show. -- the way it

:46:35. > :46:47.whiplashs. One of the benefits of them having

:46:48. > :46:51.had six riders in the group when it split, it means they can save their

:46:52. > :46:58.good riders. They put their three leaders in that group, Jurgen

:46:59. > :47:02.Roelandts, Tom Boonen and the other one. If the Belgians and have those

:47:03. > :47:05.riders, they would have all had to be riding. The Belgians sacrificed

:47:06. > :47:14.those three riders for the other three.

:47:15. > :47:20.Daniele Bennati has been up near the front for a long time. It's been the

:47:21. > :47:38.Belgians leading the way, though. There you go, Elia Viviani dropping

:47:39. > :47:44.back, sitting on Peter Sagan's wheel. His team-mates are up there,

:47:45. > :47:50.doing the work. He is down there, monitoring things, getting technical

:47:51. > :47:55.-- tactical insight from the Italian team boss in the car. There is Mark

:47:56. > :48:02.Cavendish. Looking very skinny actually. That could be the heat as

:48:03. > :48:09.well. It's sort of dehydrates you as the race goes on. Mat Hayman,

:48:10. > :48:17.checking that Michael Matthews, his team-mate, is still OK and up with

:48:18. > :48:22.him. Mat Hayman physically be bigger of the two Australians. It will be a

:48:23. > :48:25.huge benefit for Michael Matthews to have had somebody so big and strong

:48:26. > :48:30.in front of him, being protected from the wind. A bit more than the

:48:31. > :48:35.other riders, because of the size of Mat Hayman. He's had a great wheel

:48:36. > :48:43.to sit on for the whole day. The third group in a row pulled out, so

:48:44. > :48:48.only the first two groups out there now, a grand total of probably 50

:48:49. > :49:03.odd riders. They will roll towards the pits.

:49:04. > :49:13.And here we are, back at the front of the race. It's been a phenomenal

:49:14. > :49:17.display of teamwork and strength in numbers from the Belgian team. We

:49:18. > :49:20.predicted they would be quite strong, but did we predicted they'd

:49:21. > :49:26.be this strong? They have really dominated today. I think we expected

:49:27. > :49:32.the other teams to expect it as well. But crosswind racing is so

:49:33. > :49:35.particular that you can be incredibly strong and just in the

:49:36. > :49:40.wrong place, about five metres behind where the action is happening

:49:41. > :49:43.and, all of a sudden, it explodes and you have no hope. That's what

:49:44. > :49:47.happened to a lot of riders. They had the legs to be in here today but

:49:48. > :49:52.they were just a bit too far back when it all happened. You can see

:49:53. > :49:55.three teams at the front, Belgium, Italy and Norway. They are the three

:49:56. > :50:02.teams that have the highest representation in the front group.

:50:03. > :50:06.Belgium, six, Italy, four, Norway, four. Those teams are controlling

:50:07. > :50:10.it. That's where, with three leaders, Michael Matthews Australia,

:50:11. > :50:17.with Mat Hayman, Mark Cavendish, he only has Adam Blythe and then for

:50:18. > :50:21.Peter Sagan, he's only got Michael Kolar. They are going to have to

:50:22. > :50:25.watch those three teams. If it starts attacking, they've got to be

:50:26. > :50:28.very careful with what they follow and don't. They can't follow

:50:29. > :50:32.everything, they don't have the energy. They have to make sure they

:50:33. > :50:36.don't let a move though that has a Belgian, an Italian and a Norwegian

:50:37. > :50:41.rider. If that happens, they need to chase it. But if an Italian and a

:50:42. > :50:45.Belgian get up the road and there is no Norwegian, they know that the

:50:46. > :50:48.Norwegians will chase it down. So that's all they've got to worry

:50:49. > :50:53.about. You've got to watch those moves happening at the moment those

:50:54. > :51:01.three teams are represented, you go. If not, you chill out and expect

:51:02. > :51:09.them to chase it down. Nice and simple! A nice phrase at this stage

:51:10. > :51:13.of the race, just chill out! We get the sentiment. You have to be very

:51:14. > :51:16.instinctive on it, where the whole time, watching what's going on and

:51:17. > :51:24.not hesitating the moment something goes. -- I wear the whole time.

:51:25. > :51:32.Normally you'd expect it to need it to his team-mate, Peter Sagan. Some

:51:33. > :51:39.shaking of the legs in this front group. Cavendish, he won't be phased

:51:40. > :51:43.by not having a really strong lead. He is very good at surfing the

:51:44. > :51:48.wheels. When he started to win his first Tour de France victories, he

:51:49. > :51:52.was a master at that, staying calm and surfing the wheels. 20

:51:53. > :52:01.kilometres to go. Very exciting, coming into the finish.

:52:02. > :52:15.Italy and Norway contributing mouth at the pointy end of the race. --

:52:16. > :52:19.contributing now. Ryan Roth taking a go at the Canadian. -- taking an

:52:20. > :52:23.edge on Canadian. A good day for him, hanging in at the front of the

:52:24. > :52:29.race. It's very unusual that the leading group is caught. It was and

:52:30. > :52:33.they are still there with the leading riders. It doesn't happen

:52:34. > :52:40.normally. It's nigh on unprecedented, I think. Good on him.

:52:41. > :52:45.That also goes to show the make-up of the race, the fact there was only

:52:46. > :52:49.one very hard section that also in the middle and caused all this

:52:50. > :52:52.damage. After that, it hasn't been so demanding, the fact that the

:52:53. > :52:56.riders left in the initial break are still there. On a daily course,

:52:57. > :53:05.they'd probably only have lasted two laps. Since they come onto The Pearl

:53:06. > :53:09.and nothing has actually happened. A steady, consistent pace. For the

:53:10. > :53:12.riders sitting on the wheel, it hasn't been too demanding. Even

:53:13. > :53:15.though it looks technical with tight corners, it isn't like you really

:53:16. > :53:19.have to get out of the seat and stamp on the pedals. It's been very

:53:20. > :53:25.flowing for those riders not on the front, pulling the case. It's that

:53:26. > :53:29.little spell where they have two keep the chase group at arms length

:53:30. > :53:32.and make it obvious that, no matter what they try and do, they are not

:53:33. > :53:41.going to gain ground on them and come back into attention. --

:53:42. > :53:45.contention. Other than that, certainly no activity off the front

:53:46. > :53:52.of this group. No sign of it splitting up attacks or counter

:53:53. > :53:57.attacks. The sheer looming presence of those blue jerseys has helped

:53:58. > :54:01.ensure that. We were saying the Belgian team would probably want to

:54:02. > :54:04.do some attacking to drop the likes of Mark Cavendish but, it looks like

:54:05. > :54:08.the closer they get to the finish, Tom Boonen is putting a lot of faith

:54:09. > :54:13.in his legs for this sprint against the likes of Cavendish and Peter

:54:14. > :54:17.Sagan, because the Belgian team are holding the pace high. There is no

:54:18. > :54:22.bunch at all. It would leaders go to show how confident Tom Boonen must

:54:23. > :54:28.be. He's got a great leader. He's got to riders left, Jurgen Roelandts

:54:29. > :54:33.is one of them. He will be at his disposal. It is a courageous, very

:54:34. > :54:35.courageous move. I suppose you have to be bold to win the World

:54:36. > :54:49.Championships. Oliver Naesen's tag must be almost

:54:50. > :54:58.empty, the amount of time he has been at the front of the race.

:54:59. > :55:01.Jasper Stuyven as well. Is a great rider in his own right. He is tipped

:55:02. > :55:06.as being the next Tom Boonen. He has won some good races. You can wind

:55:07. > :55:13.sprints. He is broadly somebody we going to see off the front in years

:55:14. > :55:20.to come. -- he can wind sprints. That is the reason he can do a big

:55:21. > :55:24.stint like this. The winner in Brussels this year. A couple of six

:55:25. > :55:33.places in the Tour de France, including in Paris. Anti-won a stage

:55:34. > :55:41.last year. Yes, he did. -- and he won a stage. One of the early

:55:42. > :55:49.breakaway riders cramping. Goes to riders in the middle of the picture

:55:50. > :55:56.actually are both in their day job team-mates with Mark Cavendish.

:55:57. > :56:05.I don't think they'll be able to help him much though. It's

:56:06. > :56:09.interesting, looking back down the line, Elia Viviani is this from the

:56:10. > :56:17.back of that line. Sitting on the wheel of another rider. Tom Boonen

:56:18. > :56:27.isn't going to attack but if anybody does it will be Greg. A bit of an

:56:28. > :56:30.indication that Elia Viviani doesn't back himself against the likes of

:56:31. > :56:33.Tom Boonen and Cavendish or else he would be playing that game and

:56:34. > :56:39.marking their wheels. He's looking for his best opportunity to win and

:56:40. > :56:41.he sees that if there is a late attack from elsewhere he will be

:56:42. > :56:47.there and he's obviously very fast at the finish. Elia Viviani having

:56:48. > :56:53.that gold medal in the Omnium this year. All the pressure is off. His

:56:54. > :56:55.road form hasn't been the same this year because he has been

:56:56. > :57:01.concentrating on the track. He did win a stage in the Dubai Tour

:57:02. > :57:06.earlier in the year. He had a great year last year, four stage wins in

:57:07. > :57:11.the Tour of Britain. A stage won elsewhere and a gold medal in Rio

:57:12. > :57:16.this summer in the Omnium. Mark Cavendish at halfway, back the

:57:17. > :57:23.groove. -- back in the group. Adam Blythe. Clearing up what is going

:57:24. > :57:26.on. Adam Blythe will be asking Mark what he wants him to do. Just

:57:27. > :57:31.sitting on his wheel now. That is often what you do in this situation,

:57:32. > :57:35.Adam Blythe sitting behind Mark Cavendish because then, if anything

:57:36. > :57:39.happens, you can see it happening. At this point in the race, you are

:57:40. > :57:45.so concentrated, tired, and they are still talking, figuring out what to

:57:46. > :57:48.do. It looks like he has set to Adam Blythe, I want the wheel of Peter

:57:49. > :57:52.Sagan. He is holding that very tight. Adam Blythe needs to be there

:57:53. > :57:57.in case a get opened up. This is where it is going to happen in the

:57:58. > :58:01.next few minutes and we will find out who will become the new world

:58:02. > :58:05.champion for the next 12 months, as they cross the line, one lap to go

:58:06. > :58:10.in the World Championship road race. Great Britain with two cards to

:58:11. > :58:15.play. Mark Cavendish and Adam Blythe in this leading group. If a star

:58:16. > :58:19.studded leading group of riders many of whom will feel they can become

:58:20. > :58:21.the world champion. So many riders in this group could legitimately

:58:22. > :58:35.win. All of these riders you would

:58:36. > :58:40.definitely call is being potential winners. In all honesty, I wouldn't

:58:41. > :58:47.dare call any of them at the moment. But I will call Mark Cavendish. He's

:58:48. > :58:51.got the experience. Tom Boonen and mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan I guess

:58:52. > :58:54.they be a bit less confidence against those two, but he has looked

:58:55. > :59:00.very comfortable through this race. Mark Cavendish and Tom Boonen in

:59:01. > :59:07.Qatar have that history. They have got through today's race, the

:59:08. > :59:10.hardest part of the race, very well. Tom Boonen has the confidence of

:59:11. > :59:14.having the team worked so hard for him. These printers will be trying

:59:15. > :59:22.to take every positive that they can at the moment to try and get revved

:59:23. > :59:26.up for the finish. -- the sprinters. With a rider of Tom Boonen's

:59:27. > :59:29.stature, if he has the confidence to call a spread like this, you got

:59:30. > :59:34.enough team-mates to play different tactics but he is choosing not to do

:59:35. > :59:39.that. Very little chance in launching attacks now. Unless they

:59:40. > :59:43.want to cause chaos in the last few kilometres, which is possible. You

:59:44. > :59:47.might try and launch one from Van Avermaet. It's possible they might

:59:48. > :59:50.try and wreak some havoc in the final and then let Tom Boonen

:59:51. > :59:54.six-pack. He will anticipate that everybody else is unsure what's

:59:55. > :00:00.going to happen. -- let Tom Boonen sit back.

:00:01. > :00:06.Or you could do it all for one, clinical, traditional lead out. But

:00:07. > :00:13.do you want to lead Mark out that way? Let's face it, he won four

:00:14. > :00:17.stages of the Tour de France this year. The all-time greatest ever

:00:18. > :00:23.sprinter, perhaps. You want to make it a bit more difficult for him.

:00:24. > :00:31.So far it stays together. . 13.3kms to go. Tom Boonen is so confident in

:00:32. > :00:35.his condition here at the World Championships that he wants a

:00:36. > :00:40.head-to-head sprint. It looks more like it will be that way. The

:00:41. > :00:45.question eis whether Belgium will throw out attacks. Tom Boonen is

:00:46. > :00:53.showing confidence in himself for a sprint today. Adam Blythe has a

:00:54. > :00:59.massive weight on shoulders. He will have to take Cavendish to the line.

:01:00. > :01:03.Either shuts things down. When Cavendish asks you to do something,

:01:04. > :01:08.normally if you can do it for him he will fulfil the contract. That is

:01:09. > :01:14.how he operates. It is a lot of responsibility to have. We saw the

:01:15. > :01:21.discussion between them, cross the line before. Some decisions being

:01:22. > :01:26.made by Mark Cavendish. It looks as if he allowed him to have the wheel

:01:27. > :01:32.of Sagan. Cavendish has been glued to the wheel of Sagan for the last

:01:33. > :01:44.few kilometres. Here comes the second group.

:01:45. > :01:47.Over the line. One lap for them. Disappointment for Andre Griepel.

:01:48. > :01:58.This was no not the group he wanted to be in at all. One of the big

:01:59. > :02:05.pre-race favourites. Here we are with the leaders.

:02:06. > :02:10.Still all together. Only 12kms remaining now in this World

:02:11. > :02:17.Championship race. Adam Blythe is glued to Mark

:02:18. > :02:21.Cavendish's wheel. Mark Cavendish is stuck to Peter Sagan. What will

:02:22. > :02:27.happen is Blythe will sweep around the back and make sure no-one gets

:02:28. > :02:32.on Cavendish's wheel. That will be his first job. After that it will be

:02:33. > :02:35.a case of protecting him if anything happens, moving past him and

:02:36. > :02:40.positioning him if he loses a wheel. That is what Adam Blythe will have

:02:41. > :02:44.to do. He'll have to do an exceptional performance at some

:02:45. > :02:51.point, when the heat is on, to make sure Cavendish is delivered. He's

:02:52. > :02:58.the delivery man for Mark Cavendish. The tension goes up as the

:02:59. > :03:06.kilometres slowly click by and the finish comes on to the horizon. The

:03:07. > :03:10.last lap here on The Pearl, in Doha. The Belgians are dominating this

:03:11. > :03:14.leading group. A superb ride from them as a team. Not only did they

:03:15. > :03:20.get most of their team in the lead group, they had two in the front

:03:21. > :03:25.group disruptding the chase. Dis-- disrupting the chase. Disrupting,

:03:26. > :03:32.frustrating, but what a display of strength in numbers from the Belgian

:03:33. > :03:36.team today. They have not been under pressure since they made their move.

:03:37. > :03:43.They have been so in control. We saw in the women's race that the

:03:44. > :03:49.Netherlands took control, but didn't finish it off. They are speaking

:03:50. > :03:54.again at the back. There is Blythe and Cavendish. The four behind are

:03:55. > :03:58.left over from that initial break. It is a good place to be because you

:03:59. > :04:01.can see everything that is going on and it forces everybody else to

:04:02. > :04:05.question where you are and what you are doing. They are almost in the

:04:06. > :04:11.driving seat. It is like the back seat of the bus - they can see what

:04:12. > :04:16.is going on and nobody can see them. The reason he's doing that, he knows

:04:17. > :04:20.Sagan and his team-mates will move up at some point. If that doesn't

:04:21. > :04:26.happen, he has got Adam Blythe to come by and pull him up. At the

:04:27. > :04:35.moment they are counting on the two Slovaks to pull them up and they

:04:36. > :04:39.will use them as a sort of team. Boonen will get ready. He's sat in

:04:40. > :04:42.there, with his team-mates having done so much throughout the day.

:04:43. > :04:47.Will it work out for Belgium? Will they end up in the same boat as the

:04:48. > :04:52.Dutch, 24 hours ago, when they too were dominant in numbers in the

:04:53. > :04:58.women's road race and got into the perfect condition, a perfect leadout

:04:59. > :05:01.in the sprint, but ultimately the leader couldn't get over the line in

:05:02. > :05:06.first place. It is a difficult sprint to judge. You cannot see the

:05:07. > :05:10.finish line until the last 250 metres. There is the potential to

:05:11. > :05:15.accidentally go a little bit too early. That is the big fear of a lot

:05:16. > :05:21.of riders here, so the timing has to be right. It is an ever such slight

:05:22. > :05:27.little rise. How late do you have to leave it on this run-in? For

:05:28. > :05:32.different riders it is a different timing, obviously. Mark Cavendish

:05:33. > :05:36.can leave it quite late to pop out of the wheels and obviously these

:05:37. > :05:44.riders have had a demanding race. There are a lot of tired legs.

:05:45. > :05:48.Taking a look at the wind here, it has dropped off a little bit. It

:05:49. > :05:56.looks like it could be a little bit of a head-wind address well. -- as

:05:57. > :06:00.well. Definitely a slight head-wind. Who

:06:01. > :06:04.has got the coolest head because crow come around in the last 50

:06:05. > :06:09.metre, so you have to ride the right wheel and if you ride out early it

:06:10. > :06:18.is unlikely you will make it to the line. After hard racing it would be

:06:19. > :06:23.hard to have a sprint last 200 metres in these conditions. Whereas

:06:24. > :06:27.normally you would expect a sprint, a big rider could launch at 200 and

:06:28. > :06:31.hold it to the line, I think it will be more difficult in these

:06:32. > :06:36.conditions. That is the type of sprint where Cavendish excels. He

:06:37. > :06:46.can ride out in the final 75 metres and come by.

:06:47. > :06:55.And finally, the job is done of Naesen, I think. He pulls off the

:06:56. > :07:00.front. Just over eight kilometres remaining

:07:01. > :07:05.in Doha. The second Belgian ride tore go out of the job. What a job

:07:06. > :07:09.he's done as well. Not giving up yet. Maybe he's decided he's got a

:07:10. > :07:15.second wind, just in case he's needed again. He will hang in there.

:07:16. > :07:21.It is amazing how athletes can do that. They can squeeze every last

:07:22. > :07:25.little bit out of themselves. When they get to the back there, they

:07:26. > :07:32.find that extra motivation to get back in. We saw it yesterday with

:07:33. > :07:39.Danni King. A big turn, she was able to get back in. Look at the effort

:07:40. > :07:49.there in the front. His final pool I image fwin. Empty now. -- imagine.

:07:50. > :07:54.Empty now and peel off. Stuyven forcing the pace and drawing

:07:55. > :07:57.some of the sting from one or two other riders here who may fancy

:07:58. > :08:03.their chances. You can see the speed at the back. There is Mark Cavendish

:08:04. > :08:08.peeling out. Stuyven doing the big turn. It is levelling the playing

:08:09. > :08:13.field a little bit. Now Boonen only has two team-mates left. The same as

:08:14. > :08:17.Matthews and Sagan, Mark Cavendish - they only have one team-mate left.

:08:18. > :08:21.He's used up the majority of his team controlling the race now. At

:08:22. > :08:27.the moment it will look like a chaotic sprint. Norway and Italy

:08:28. > :08:30.still have three team-mates left for their respective leaders. You would

:08:31. > :08:35.count on them doing a slightly bigger leadout. There is a strong

:08:36. > :08:43.chance they would have burnt them out before the final K. It will be

:08:44. > :08:49.one leader with one man. So many riders who have genuine hopes of

:08:50. > :08:56.winning. Realistic hopes of winning. Stuyven has pulled off as well.

:08:57. > :09:03.Two team-mates left. So, this is going to make it even more chaotic.

:09:04. > :09:15.The three nor Norwegians... Each rider at the

:09:16. > :09:19.front for a while has to do one big turn. That is all they have left in

:09:20. > :09:24.them. To the final leadout now. It will all stall a little bit because

:09:25. > :09:30.there is a long way to go. Norway with six K to go. It is unusual

:09:31. > :09:35.taking bottles on with six kilometres to go. Some relaxed

:09:36. > :09:50.riders with six kilometres to go. Terpstra in there. Michael Matthews

:09:51. > :09:56.has been determined. Confident to have Heyman there to

:09:57. > :10:00.put him into a position. I think the only chance for Tom Leezer is quick,

:10:01. > :10:04.with the Dutch rider. He has used a leadout man in his professional

:10:05. > :10:14.team. Whether he would be convinced to do the sprint, I don't think so.

:10:15. > :10:23.That It is a slim chance on an occasion

:10:24. > :10:29.such as this. 1.3kms to go. You can see Blythe and

:10:30. > :10:38.Cavendish positioned. They have to be alert. Terpstra makes his move.

:10:39. > :10:45.He has a little go. Doesn't last for long.

:10:46. > :10:53.Avermaet with him. We knew Greg Van Avermaet... The moment Terpstra saw

:10:54. > :11:03.he had Avermaet on his wheel, he a's not going to work with him because

:11:04. > :11:09.he has Tom Boonen behind. Hayman was with that move as well.

:11:10. > :11:13.The Slovaks are taking control. They are quite enjoying... This is what

:11:14. > :11:18.they need to do a little bit now. I don't know where Peter Sagan has

:11:19. > :11:25.decided... Oh, that was Adam Blythe keeping Mark Cavendish's wheel clean

:11:26. > :11:29.there. Blythe knows what he has to do. His job is called the sweeper

:11:30. > :11:33.role, to sweep Mark Cavendish's wheel.

:11:34. > :11:42.I think he will be willing to do it. He has to fight to make space for

:11:43. > :11:46.Mark Cavendish as well. He's got to be the man that moves and makes room

:11:47. > :11:54.for Mark Cavendish. Four kilometres to go.

:11:55. > :11:58.It is Corella leading this group, around the round about. Mark

:11:59. > :12:04.Cavendish is further back from halfway. Watch Adam Blythe. He

:12:05. > :12:13.sweeps either side of Mark's wheel, making sure it keeps people away

:12:14. > :12:18.from him. Adam Blythe is in for that one, it

:12:19. > :12:22.is not a fun yob to have. It gets physical -- fun to have. It gets

:12:23. > :12:28.physical. He'll have to start to use his head

:12:29. > :12:36.and his shoulders. Hayman moving on. Not sure what we

:12:37. > :12:41.are seeing there. So Corella leads the way. Tom Boonen

:12:42. > :12:49.must feel the pressure now after such a superb job. He's in a good

:12:50. > :12:59.position. He looks relaxed. That is Leezer of the Netherlands in second

:13:00. > :13:04.place. Viviani in third. And Norway have got the one with the jersey

:13:05. > :13:06.unzipped. He's not the big card. He's trying to power away at the

:13:07. > :13:14.front for now. It is an interesting choice of Peter

:13:15. > :13:17.Sagan. You can see how the leaders are using their team-mates in

:13:18. > :13:22.different ways. Mark Cavendish has decided to use Adam Blythe as his

:13:23. > :13:25.sweeper. Peter Sagan has sent his team-mate up there to control the

:13:26. > :13:30.race. Peter Sagan will run this solo, which is classic Peter Sagan

:13:31. > :13:35.style. Mark Cavendish is using a slightly more refined tactic.

:13:36. > :13:40.This is where it gets dangerous. You can easily get boxed in or caught

:13:41. > :13:45.out. So again this is, we will see if Mark Cavendish is still glued to

:13:46. > :13:50.Peter Sagan's wheel. Because Peter Sagan, one thing he's good at is

:13:51. > :13:55.positioning. He's on Sagan's wheel. The blue jersey of Sagan, the centre

:13:56. > :13:59.back of this group. Two hand a half to go.

:14:00. > :14:04.And now this must be Terpstra having a go. It is Leezer.

:14:05. > :14:08.Yes, it is Leezer. Tom Leezer going off the front for the Netherlands.

:14:09. > :14:13.Gambling. He has to go for it here. He has no alternative. No chance

:14:14. > :14:19.whatsoever if it is a sprint. This will be the one-two tactic. Norway

:14:20. > :14:25.are forced to chase and bell gap. Greg Van Avermaet will -- Belgian.

:14:26. > :14:30.Greg Van Avermaet will have to go. So Tom Leezer on the attack. He's

:14:31. > :14:35.opened up a gap here now, with just two, less than two kilometres to go.

:14:36. > :14:38.He's looking strong. This is where the Norwegian rider will not have

:14:39. > :14:43.much in him because he's been doing the chase. Norway will have to use a

:14:44. > :14:49.fresher ride tore bring this back. He's going for it on the front. He's

:14:50. > :14:57.not got much left in the tank. He's losing ground to Leezer at the

:14:58. > :15:02.moment. All the leaders are scared of using their leading man. For the

:15:03. > :15:09.first time today the pressure is on the Belgian team.

:15:10. > :15:17.Boonen on the wheel with 1.3 to go. Boonen, it is too far at the front

:15:18. > :15:21.for Boonen at the moment. At some point Greg Van Avermaet will

:15:22. > :15:25.have to come up and help. Maybe he will be the guy for this sprint and

:15:26. > :15:31.Tom Boonen has been bluffing. That is an option. Two Belgian riders in

:15:32. > :15:35.the front. You can see the other side, with a kilometre to go, that

:15:36. > :15:41.is the worst position for Tom Boonen right now.

:15:42. > :15:46.One kilometre to go now. Tom Leezer from the Netherlands, look at the

:15:47. > :15:51.effort. He's getting everything he's got. Can he hang on? Still a long

:15:52. > :15:54.way to go. The chase is being led by the Belgians and Jurgen Roelandts is

:15:55. > :16:00.on the front. Jurgen Roelandts leading the chase. Beginning to

:16:01. > :16:06.close the gap. He's now going to use Tom Leezer as his target man, his

:16:07. > :16:09.slipstream. The guys in the break had been dropped. I can't see Mark

:16:10. > :16:15.Cavendish. He is still an Peter Sagan's wheel. 500 metres to go.

:16:16. > :16:22.They start to fan out across the road. Tom Leezer's output haven't

:16:23. > :16:28.been successful. Adam Blythe is moving up he looks over his shoulder

:16:29. > :16:30.to see if Mark Cavendish is there. In the finishing straight. Fanned

:16:31. > :16:39.out across the road. Tom Boonen tries to lead them. It comes Michael

:16:40. > :16:44.Matthews. Towards the line. Peter Sagan of Slovakia. Peter Sagan takes

:16:45. > :16:49.the victory on the line. What a spread. Mark Cavendish pipped at the

:16:50. > :16:52.last. He can't believe it. But you never bet against Peter Sagan in a

:16:53. > :16:59.situation like that, and he best -- he saved the best for last. What a

:17:00. > :17:06.sprint! What a finish! For the second year in a row, Peter Sagan is

:17:07. > :17:10.the world champion. That hasn't happened since 1992. Mark Cavendish

:17:11. > :17:15.get the silver medal. Tom Leezer of the Netherlands just forced out of

:17:16. > :17:20.it in the end. Tom Boonen Belgian with bronze. Cavendish left banging

:17:21. > :17:24.his handlebars in frustration. He knew that Peter Sagan's wheel was

:17:25. > :17:30.what he wanted, that's what he's back with, but he had the legs to

:17:31. > :17:33.get into the line. He did everything well but Peter Sagan is so strong.

:17:34. > :17:47.Tom Boonen did a great sprint. All of the favourites. Michael Matthews

:17:48. > :17:52.board, Nizzolo says,. -- Michael Matthews was fourth. Adam Blythe

:17:53. > :17:56.finished 12th. You was trying to lead out Mark Cavendish. Peter Sagan

:17:57. > :18:00.rode it perfectly. An unbelievable finish from Peter Sagan. He said his

:18:01. > :18:07.team made up the three or four kilometres for the finish. Mark

:18:08. > :18:16.Cavendish, a picture of frustration. So near and yet so far. Almost the

:18:17. > :18:19.perfect race for him. There you go, he's just saying that he lost the

:18:20. > :18:26.wheel. In that chaos and confusion. Adam Blythe came round. Jurgen

:18:27. > :18:29.Roelandts, Tom Boonen. There is Adam Blythe on the left. Mark Cavendish

:18:30. > :18:36.on the right. He tries to get onto Adam's wheel. He goes back to Peter

:18:37. > :18:42.Sagan and destroys not to take -- decides not to take Adam. Two

:18:43. > :18:46.Norwegian riders on the left. Peter Sagan jumps. Look at the speed of

:18:47. > :18:52.his job. Mark Cavendish decided to go left. He got stuck behind Michael

:18:53. > :18:57.Matthews. Peter Sagan chose the right direction. Mark Cavendish

:18:58. > :19:02.didn't. He ultimately got slightly bulked inadvertently behind Michael

:19:03. > :19:07.Matthews. They split. He did everything right. Peter Sagan chose

:19:08. > :19:10.to go right for the sprint. Mark Cavendish chose to go left. It's a

:19:11. > :19:14.lottery. You don't know which will be the right one. He got slightly

:19:15. > :19:19.caught behind Michael Matthews and that's what stopped him being

:19:20. > :19:25.closer. You can see his frustration when he crossed the line. For Peter

:19:26. > :19:30.Sagan, with number one on his back, to win, as reigning world champion,

:19:31. > :19:33.that is quite an accomplishment for anybody in any career. Just that one

:19:34. > :19:39.moment for Cavendish. He couldn't quite get through. With Michael

:19:40. > :19:45.Matthews in front of him. He had no choice. About 100 metres to go, they

:19:46. > :19:48.launched their spread. He couldn't have gone with Peter Sagan because

:19:49. > :19:52.he would have got locked in. They started their race against each

:19:53. > :19:56.other. Equally, Peter Sagan could have got caught up and he didn't.

:19:57. > :20:04.Mark Cavendish had the misfortune not to. Effectively a high five to

:20:05. > :20:07.Peter Sagan. Really good. They are the three riders be expected on the

:20:08. > :20:12.podium. It was just a matter of which order. Peter Sagan delivers at

:20:13. > :20:17.the end. What is entertainment. For the second time in his career, Peter

:20:18. > :20:22.Sagan is world champion. Mark Cavendish left disappointed with his

:20:23. > :20:26.second silver medal of the year, to go with the one in the Omnium it

:20:27. > :20:39.reopened it was so nearly gold today. -- the Omnium at Rio.

:20:40. > :20:50.Tom Boonen, previous world champion, he won it in 2005. An excellent 12th

:20:51. > :20:56.place for Adam Blythe. I can't believe it. It's amazing. I have

:20:57. > :21:04.thank you for all my family and friends. They support me here. They

:21:05. > :21:11.bring sort of energy from Slovakia here. They were cheering for me. I

:21:12. > :21:18.am very happy. It's amazing. My brother, he risked for me is life,

:21:19. > :21:26.because he went for the water upwards -- he went from the road, he

:21:27. > :21:29.went out of the road. Michael Kolar was going the last five kilometres

:21:30. > :21:37.in front to make that sprint. And you do the whole team. -- thank you

:21:38. > :21:45.to the whole team. I wanted to be an Peter's wheel. I knew that he would

:21:46. > :21:50.get the right wheel. I told Adam to come with a few hundred metres to

:21:51. > :21:54.go. When he came, he was alongside and it spread everybody out. It was

:21:55. > :21:59.the wrong side of the road. There was nowhere to go. Maybe I should

:22:00. > :22:04.have been further forward. I don't know. I had nowhere to go for most

:22:05. > :22:08.of it. Managed to come back and drown someone, Matthews, with less

:22:09. > :22:16.than 100 go. I came past Tom but I couldn't race Peter Sagan. So much

:22:17. > :22:21.power. I'm disappointed I messed up tactically. That decisive split in

:22:22. > :22:26.the race, you and Adam managed to stay with the leading group, that

:22:27. > :22:30.was the moment the race. There was a puncture. He was in the front. The

:22:31. > :22:39.guy is incredible to get us there. Daniel McLay and Ian Stannard. --

:22:40. > :22:43.Daniel McLay. So they were brilliant up to them. Just unfortunate to lose

:22:44. > :22:48.Luke to a puncture. He would have been valuable at the final. Mark

:22:49. > :22:54.felt he got boxed in. He didn't get a free run at it. By the looks of

:22:55. > :22:58.it, he was pretty quick. He will be disappointed. People had a lot of

:22:59. > :23:02.money on him. A group of 25 to win the sprint, you would put a lot of

:23:03. > :23:08.money on him. At the end of the day, Peter Sagan is fast. We know that.

:23:09. > :23:15.Just running out of road at the end. Maybe if the line was 20 metres

:23:16. > :23:18.later and Peter Sagan launched 20 metres later, but that's how it is.

:23:19. > :23:25.That is baked -- that is by Christine. I'll have to settle with

:23:26. > :23:29.another second. -- that is bike racing. It will be a long time

:23:30. > :23:34.before we see another sprinter's course. Do you think we have another

:23:35. > :23:41.world champion with us? Definitely. People like Ian Stannard, Luke Rowe,

:23:42. > :23:46.these guys moving on, Geraint Thomas would have won a medal at the

:23:47. > :23:50.Olympics if he hadn't fallen. 100%. Let's see what the world will be

:23:51. > :23:55.like in 2019. Maybe Mark will have another go there. Fantastic scenes.

:23:56. > :24:01.Peter Sagan celebrating another World Championship victory. A 1-2-

:24:02. > :24:06.three from former world champions. I think it tells you all you need to

:24:07. > :24:10.know about the quality of this race. Bitter disappointment Mark

:24:11. > :24:15.Cavendish. When you believe you could have won it, which I think

:24:16. > :24:18.Mark did, rightfully so. There were a couple of mistakes but he did

:24:19. > :24:23.everything right the whole race. Adam Blythe Webster left earlier to

:24:24. > :24:28.try and lead out. -- Adam Blythe went left early. Peter Sagan chose

:24:29. > :24:32.the right hand side and Mark Cavendish chose the left. That was

:24:33. > :24:35.fine but I don't think he anticipated Michael Matthews slowing

:24:36. > :24:42.as much as he did and he got caught up behind him. What are your

:24:43. > :24:46.thoughts? The expression on Mark's face of the race goes to show he

:24:47. > :24:51.believes he could have won it. Absolutely devastating to lose a

:24:52. > :24:54.race when you haven't really given yourself every opportunity and he

:24:55. > :24:58.made one split decision that might not have been right. Very difficult

:24:59. > :25:01.to know. You can see the disappointment of his face. Given --

:25:02. > :25:08.difficult not to feel is disappointment. It was absolutely

:25:09. > :25:14.critical, the sprint. But there were other moments where this race was

:25:15. > :25:17.decided. There was one moment, 184 kilometres from the finish and it

:25:18. > :25:22.lasted about five kilometres. That is exactly what happens. Everybody

:25:23. > :25:26.knew what was happening but it doesn't matter how prepared you are,

:25:27. > :25:29.when it happens, you just need to be caught in the wrong position and

:25:30. > :25:33.it's all over, or you have a puncture and there is no getting

:25:34. > :25:36.back. Geraint Thomas bitterly disappointed getting a double

:25:37. > :25:41.puncture just as he was getting across. But that is bike racing. You

:25:42. > :25:45.saw when they climbed off the bike that they couldn't believe it. They

:25:46. > :25:49.came in thinking that Team GB could be the strongest and dominating

:25:50. > :25:52.force. In the end, it was a bit of bad luck for Geraint Thomas, getting

:25:53. > :26:01.that puncture, and that critical moment. Very difficult for the team

:26:02. > :26:04.to deal with. The Belgians drove this race as soon as that split

:26:05. > :26:09.happened. They got a bronze medal for Tom Boonen. Could they have done

:26:10. > :26:14.more? I'm amazed at the confidence he had to control the whole race for

:26:15. > :26:18.a bunch sprint with Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan there. Mark

:26:19. > :26:22.Cavendish in particular, and he had the legs to win. But he chose his

:26:23. > :26:27.tactics. That's what a former world champion like Tom Boonen does. It

:26:28. > :26:30.didn't quite work out. As a team, they rode incredibly. They could

:26:31. > :26:34.have had different tactics but, on this circuit, I don't think they

:26:35. > :26:41.could have made a difference. Almost done here in Doha, but more sport

:26:42. > :27:08.coming up. The first round proper of the FA Cup is fast approaching.

:27:09. > :27:14.As the sunsets here in Doha, in fact it's properly set now, and we have

:27:15. > :27:19.got some cool air for the first time week, let's reflect on these World

:27:20. > :27:25.Championships. The crowd sat been disappointing but we have seen some

:27:26. > :27:28.great racing. They have. The women's race, I thought the British women's

:27:29. > :27:33.team, I haven't seen a performance like that ever read British women's

:27:34. > :27:38.team. It was fantastic, especially some of the young riders. Today, the

:27:39. > :27:41.road race, the British team, Adam Blythe and Mark Cavendish. Limited

:27:42. > :27:45.options when we expected a full government of riders and still they

:27:46. > :27:51.managed to do nearly a perfect race. Your highlight was to I figured it

:27:52. > :27:57.would have to be the way that Dani King rode for Lizzie Deignan. It was

:27:58. > :28:02.a top-class effort from Dani King. Lots to enjoy in Doha over the last

:28:03. > :28:06.week. Next year, we are off to Bergen, Innsbruck and finally

:28:07. > :28:48.Yorkshire in 2019. From all of us here in Doha, bye-bye.

:28:49. > :28:55.They are in the finishing straight. Fanned out across the road. It comes

:28:56. > :29:01.Michael Matthews from the centre. Peter Sagan takes the victory on the

:29:02. > :29:02.line! The second year in a row, Peter Sagan is the champion of the

:29:03. > :29:04.world.