France’s Alaphilippe Retains Men’s Cycling World Title in Explosive Fashion

France’s Alaphilippe Retains Men’s Cycling World Title in Explosive Fashion
France's Julian Alaphilippe celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the elite men road race of the UCI World Championships Road Cycling Flanders 2021, 268,3km from Antwerp to Leuven on Sept. 26, 2021. David Stockman/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty Images
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LEUVEN, Belgium—France’s Julian Alaphilippe retained his men’s road race title at the cycling world championships in style after attacking relentlessly in the finale, capping a remarkable team performance on Sunday.

Alaphilippe made the decisive move on the short climb up to the Sint Antoniusberg 17km from the line and never looked back, becoming only the seventh rider to win consecutive titles.