ZOLDER (Belgium), Oct 12: French rider Arnaud Gerard won the junior men’s road race title at the road cycling world championships Saturday.

He beat Jukka Vastaranta of Finland and Nicolas Sanderson of Australia in a sprint finish. They were part of a small group of riders who broke away on the final lap of the 128 km race.

The main field of riders finished nine seconds behind with several riders crashing as they crossed the line.

Meanwhile, Swedish rider Susanne Ljungaskog won the women’s road race title at the world cycling championships on Saturday.

She outsprinted Nicole Brandli of Switzerland and Joane Somarriba of Spain after joining them in the final kilometres of the 128-km race.

Rain in the final part of the race caused several crashes on the slick roads of the Zolder motor racing circuit.

The men’s professional race, over 256 kms, will be contested on Sunday.—Reuters