Alaphilippe, Evenepoel, Van der Poel and Pogacar: the last five men’s world champions

The World Championships in Imola were always going to be decided on the climbs of the Autodromo circuit. Julian Alaphilippe chose his moment on the penultimate ascent of the Cima Gallisterna. With 12 km remaining, he attacked with his characteristic explosiveness, snapping the elastic as the elite group faltered. 

A small group with Fuglsang, Van Aert, Roglic, Hirschi and Kwiatkowski chased desperately but could not bridge across on the wide finishing circuit. Alaphilippe maintained his rhythm, cresting the final climb alone and plunging back towards the racetrack. 

He powered down the finishing straight with tears in his eyes, arms aloft, to claim France’s first men’s world title since Laurent Brochard in 1997. His margin, just under half a minute, reflected a masterclass in timing and grit.

One year later, on the roads of Flanders, Alaphilippe proved himself untouchable once more. The 268 km from Antwerp to Leuven was lined with Belgian flags and expectation, but it was a Frenchman who dominated. 

On the closing laps of the city circuit he attacked repeatedly, breaking the resolve of the home nation. His third move, on the cobbled slope of the Sint-Antoniusberg, proved fatal. 

With 20 seconds in hand, he stormed through the final kilometres as the Belgian chase collapsed. On Leuven’s rise to the finish, he savoured his back-to-back title, the first rider since Peter Sagan to defend the rainbow jersey.

The coastal city of Wollongong crowned Belgium’s new prodigy. On Mount Pleasant, Remco Evenepoel dropped Alexey Lutsenko with 25 km to race and set off alone. What followed was less a road race, more a solo exhibition. His advantage grew with every pedal stroke, climbing beyond two minutes by the line. 

Christophe Laporte and Michael Matthews settled for the lesser medals as Evenepoel celebrated Belgium’s first men’s world title in a decade. His win capped a remarkable season that already included Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the red jersey at the Vuelta a España, it announced him as the heir to his country’s great champions.

Glasgow offered a spectacle on narrow, rain-slicked streets, and Mathieu van der Poel thrived in the chaos. The decisive quartet was the sport’s pantheon – van der Poel, van Aert, Pogačar, Pedersen – but only one had the legs to break free. Van der Poel attacked with 22 km left, opening a gap that looked precarious until his rivals hesitated. 

On a treacherous corner he crashed hard, tearing his jersey and shoe, yet remounted immediately and pressed on. Fueled by adrenaline, he extended his lead to over a minute and entered George Square alone, finally a world champion. 

The first Dutchman to wear the rainbow since Joop Zoetemelk in 1985, he finally claimed the jersey that had long eluded his famous family.

In Zurich, Tadej Pogačar rewrote the script. With 100 km still to race, he attacked on the climbs and bridged to the early break. By 50 km to go he was alone, dismissing his last companion (Pavel Sivakov) on a steep rise. The gamble looked reckless but became inspired.

Over more than 4,000 metres of climbing, he held off every counter from behind. Ben O’Connor closed to within half a minute, but Pogačar refused to break. He crossed the line 34 seconds clear, claiming Slovenia’s first men’s road world title and completing a rare Triple Crown of Giro, Tour and Worlds in the same season. Bravado became legend on the streets of Zurich.

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