Peter Sagan is the first rider to win three successive World Championship road race titles after a thrilling finish in Bergen.
The Slovakian went wheel-to-wheel with Norwegian star Alexander Kristoff in a reduced bunch sprint and denied the Katusha rider victory in front of his home fans by a matter of inches.
Sagan had previously won the world title in the American city of Richmond in 2015 and then defended his title in another sprint in Doha at the end of last season.
The race only came back together in the closing stages, with Team Sky’s Italian rider Gianni Moscon and Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe the last pair to try a meaningful breakaway, which lasted into the closing kilometres.
However, the field was just about back together entering the final kilometre with Danish rider Magnus Cort Nielsen hanging a few yards off the front.
He was soon swept aside and Kristoff made his bid for glory off the final bend with Sagan sitting comfortably in his slipstream.
And it was the Bora-Hansgrohe rider who just got the better of the photo finish to secure his place in the history books – he is also the fifth man to win the title three times.
He said: “It was not easy, guys were changing in the front all the time. I tried to go with the breakaway and it came down to a sprint, it was unbelievable.
“Kristoff was racing at home so I’m sorry, but of course I’m happy to win. (Three in a row) is something special for sure. For me it’s something very nice.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews finished in third ahead of Italy’s Matteo Trentin and Britain’s Ben Swift, who took fifth after being part of another late break attempt.
Swift said: “Sagan was incredible, I think all of us were trying a couple of moves because it was all over the place, but he did amazing.
“The team was brilliant today, we set out what we wanted to do and everyone rode brilliantly.”
