Gilbert and Evans very impressive but Australian course not quite hard enough Riding a canny, calculating race, Norwegian rider Thor Hushovd showed his strength on the final lap with a superb sprint victory to become world champion. The 32 year old overhauled Danish rider Matti Breschel inside the final 100 metres of the Elite road race, with bronze medallist Allan Davis giving the Australian home crowd something to cheer about after Cadel Evans’ repeated, courageous efforts to successfully defend his title didn’t pay off. Evans and Belgian rider Philippe Gilbert were arguably the two strongest riders, with the latter uncorking a brilliant acceleration on the final ascent of the Ridge climb and scorching clear of the front group. He opened a gap of over twenty seconds over chasers Evans and Paul Maertens (Germany), but the mainly-flat run-in to the line led to a regrouping behind and his recapture with approximately three kilometres to go. Pavel Brutt (Russia) and Janez Brajkovic