1987 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race

Race route and details

The race route contained 23 laps of 11.7 km, equaling a total 269.1 km of racing in all. Each lap featured two climbs that were 100 m and 90 m, respectively, with some portions having a ten percent gradient. The race started at 10:30 AM local time. Sportswriters found the course to be suited for sprinters, believing that the race would likely result in a sprint finish.{{cite news|url=http://doc.rero.ch/record/110219/files/1987-09-05.pdf|title=Des favoris à la pelle|trans-title=Favorites in spades

Participants and race favorites

The race began with 168 riders from 26 different countries, of which 71 finished. L'Impartial writer Michel Deruns felt the race was open to 40 or so riders to win the event as he felt it would likely end in a bunch sprint. The starting field featured the previous year's winner Moreno Argentin, who was seen as the race favorite by many journalists and the Austrian bookmakers. Guido Bontempi (Italy), Sean Kelly (Ireland), Teun van Vliet (Dutch), and Eric Vanderaerden (Belgium) as other riders capable of winning the race. Swiss rider Erich Maechler who won Milan–San Remo that season was viewed as Switzerland's best hope to win the race. A writer for Amigoe believed the Dutch and Italian teams to be the best teams competing in the race. La Stampa writer Gian Paolo Ormezzano believed an Italian rider would win the race, specifically Argentin or Bontempi, but stated the Dutch riders were a team to "fear." Cees Olsthoorn of Het vrije volk believed that Steven Rooks and van Vliet were the Dutch riders with the best chances of winning.

Giro d'Italia and Tour de France winner Stephen Roche was viewed as a contender due to his great form throughout the season. There was significant media coverage around Roche because if he won the race, he would win cycling's Triple Crown, where one wins the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships in one calendar year. Only five cyclists had won the two Grand Tours in a single season by that point. A writer for The Guardian stated that if the climbs were higher, Roche's chances would be better. There were concerns over Roche's fitness at the time because he took a break from racing following his Tour success and in his first race back (Italy's Three Valleys), he did not perform well.

Race summary

After speculation of the start being delayed due to severe thunderstorms, the race began on time, during heavy rain. The rain on course caused the earlier portion of the race to be slower, what De Telegraaf described as "dull." Portugal's Orlando Neves attacked off the front of the peloton early and established a lead of nearly two minutes, but was caught by the main field 75 km later.

On the eighteenth lap, Jan Nevens (Belgium), Argentin (Italy), van Vliet (Dutch), and Juan Fernández (Spain) formed a breakaway. The quartet stretched a lead of one minute over chasing riders. As the riders chased the leaders, Roche (Ireland) and Steve Bauer (Canada) led a group of fifteen to join the leading four during the twenty-first lap. Roche had been principally working to help teammate Sean Kelly get to a final sprint. Shortly after joining the lead bunch, Erik Breukink made a move off the front, only to be caught by Belgian Jozef Lieckens. Van Vliet made another move between three kilometers and one and a half kilometers to go, which Roche, Rolf Sørensen (Denmark), Guido Winterberg and Rolf Gölz (Germany) followed. These attacks by the Dutch riders split the group of thirteen on the road, which left Kelly in the group behind.{{cite news|url=http://doc.rero.ch/record/286415/files/1987-09-07.pdf|title=Stephen Roche imite Eddy Merckx|trans-title=Stephen Roche imitates Eddy Merckx

Result

Aftermath

Roche became the first ever Irishman to win the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. In addition, he became the second rider – after Eddy Merckx in 1974 – to complete the Triple Crown of Cycling, which consists of winning two Grand Tour races and the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships in a calendar year. Upon finishing the race, Roche stated that was like "a fairy tale" and that he "came to Austria to help [Sean] Kelly" going on to mention how the course did not suit him and he was not well prepared for the race. Roche commented on his day's performance saying: "Normally, I never do that kind of move – sprinting from the front for so long – but I realized that If I didn't do something, I'd finish fourth or fifth." For his achievements during the 1987 cycling season, Roche was named Freedom of the City of Dublin and became the first athlete to be given this honor. Michel Deruns of L'Impartial felt that the race was one of the best in the past twenty years in the event, with Roche being the only rider deserving of winning. He stated that Roche did a great job at trying to support Kelly and the two quelled any attacks from the field as the race wound down.

Dutchman Teun van Vliet stated that Germany's Rolf Gölz was on his wheel as Roche launched the final attack. Van Vliet stated "I was still fresh", but he elected not to chase hard after Roche as Gölz would benefit from his slipstream and have a great chance to win the race, to which van Vliet commented "I didn't like that thought." Fellow countryman, Adri Van der Poel felt the Dutch team had a strong showing and commented: "If we can continue to build with this group, there will be more in the future. Then success cannot be inevitable." De Telegraaf felt the Dutch team performed very well, citing three riders finished in the top nine placings. Jean-Paul van Poppel was regarded as the worst Dutch performer as his legs' "blocked" during the first lap and did not finish the race. Durens felt the Swiss riders collectively raced an aggressive race, with two riders, Guido Winterberg and Jörg Müller, finishing in the lead bunch. He felt that if the two riders worked together in the final sprint, Winterberg could have finished in the top five or placed on the podium.

References

References

1. (September 7, 1987). ""De Roche" De Facultades". El Mundo Deportivo.
2. Javier Delmases. (September 6, 1987). "A ritmo de vals". El Mundo Deportivo.
3. Gino Sala. (September 6, 1987). "Tanto azzurro nella verde Austria". PCI.
4. Dario Ceccarelli. (September 6, 1987). "La task force del generale Martini". PCI.
5. (September 7, 1987). "Argentin s'inchina a Roche". Editrice La Stampa.
6. Gian Paolo Ormezzano. (September 7, 1987). "Martini sereno: <>". Editrice La Stampa.
7. Gian Paolo Ormezzano. (September 7, 1987). "Roche mondiale grande come Merckx". Editrice La Stampa.
8. (September 6, 1987). "I Numeri di Gara Degli Azzurri". Editrice La Stampa.
9. (September 5, 1987). "Roche prepares to battle for cycling's triple crown". The Guardian.
10. F. Recuero. (September 6, 1987). "Molts favorits en un Mundial de ciclisme apte per a velocistes". Hermes Comunicacions S.A..
11. Christian Rappaz. (5 September 1987). "L'élu de la dernière heure". Nouvelliste et Feuille d'Avis du Valais.
12. Gian Paolo Ormezzano. (September 6, 1987). "Non c'è piu Hinault, manca un faro". Editrice La Stampa.
13. (September 7, 1987). "Clasificacion". El Mundo Deportivo S.A..
14. Gino Sala. (September 7, 1987). "Roche grande come Merckx". PCI.
15. (September 9, 1987). "Stephen Roche bekroont een uiterst succesvol seizoen met het wereldkampioenschap bij de profs". Amigoe.
16. Cees Olsthoorn. (September 7, 1987). "Roche in de voetsporen van Merckx". De Arbeiderspers.
17. Robert Zeller. (September 7, 1987). "Roche matches Merckx triple". The Guardian.
18. Bert Dijkstra. (September 7, 1987). "Roche voltooit trilogie". Dagblad De Telegraaf.
19. (September 7, 1987). "Roche captures World title". Johnson City Press.
20. (7 September 1987). "Roche à la Merckx". L'Express Feuille d'avis de Neuchâtel.
21. Michel Deruns. (7 September 1987). "Stephen Roche: absolument fabuleux". L'Impartial.
22. "1987 World Pro Road Cycling Championships". Dog Ear Publishing.
23. (September 9, 1987). "Cycling". The Guardian.