Fedorov Wins U23 Men’s Road Race at UCI World Championships
22-year-old Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kazakstan) is the winner of the U23 road race of the 2022 UCI road cycling world championships. Fedorov soloed across the finish line in Australia after completing the 169.8-kilometer course, a hilly circuit in Wollongong in rainy conditions in 03:57:08.
Fedorov, who is now the U23 World Champion, was tailed by Mathias Vacek of the Czech Republic who had lost the two-man sprint. Søren Wærenskjold of Norway finished third after winning the sprint of a small group that crossed the finish line three seconds after the winner.
Part of the Astana pro team, Fedorov has participated in professional races this season, including the Vuelta a Espana in which he showed stamina and finished 13th in stage 11 from ElPozo Alimentación to Cabo de Gataand 16th in the final stage from Las Rozas to Madrid. He finished 19th in stage 3 of Paris-Nice 2022 but had to abandon the race before stage 7. Fedorov also completed this year’s Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix. Fedorov is showing promising abilities in time trials and sprints.
“I am so happy and I still can’t believe I did it. It’s so emotional for me. Together with the team we were working hard to prepare for this race and three weeks at La Vuelta gave me a lot in this matter,” a proud Fedorov told Roadcycling.com after the finish.
“I wanted to deliver a good result here and I promised to myself to do anything possible in the fight for the gold medal. But I knew it wouldn’t be easy at all. The expectations were high, and I put some pressure on myself, but in the end I won and now I am super happy.”
“It was a tough day on the road and we spent the whole day in the rain. The pace of the race was high and all day long we were riding full gas. I constantly kept on trying in the final part of the race. First, I tried with four laps to go, then again with two laps to go. It didn’t work out. Afterwards I had to spend a lot of energy to bridge to a new group of attackers that I realized could be a good one.”
“At the end of the day, I found myself in a group of four riders with some good chances in the final. Inside the last five kilometers only two of us remained and I was there with Mathias Vacek, while the chasing group was so close it felt as if they were breathing down our shoulders. Vacek and I worked hard together, and we gave all we had to stay away and to reach the finish line. I went in front with some 300 meters to go and launched my sprint. I just gave all I had left in the legs and it was enough to become the World Champion,” Fedorov explained.
2022 World Championships U23 Road Race Results:
1 Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kazakhstan) – 3:57:08
2 Mathias Vacek (Czech Republic) – +1″
3 Søren Wærenskjold (Norway) – +3″
4 Madis Mihkels (Estonia) – s.t.
5 Olav Kooij (Netherlands) – s.t.
6 Pavel Bittner (Czech Republic) – s.t.
7 Matthew Dinham (Australia) – s.t.
8 Paul Penhoet (France) – s.t.
9 Matevž Govekar (Slovakia) – s.t.
10 Jenno Berckmoes (Belgium) – s.t.
