PONFERRADA, Spain — Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland pulled away from a star-studded field to win a grueling road race at the cycling world championships Sunday.
Kwiatkowski slipped away from the peloton to join a breakaway group of four riders and didn’t stop, staying ahead of the chasers on the final descent.
Kwiatkowski won the 254.8-kilometre (158.3-mile) ride in six and a half hours.
Simon Gerrans of Australia was second and Alejandro Valverde was third for the third straight year.
Former Tour de France winner Chris Froome withdrew with less than three laps to go after falling behind the peloton.