Stefan Küng (Switzerland) ended Switzerland's 20-year medal drought in the elite men's road race with a bronze medal at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire on Sunday. Küng told the press that his two breakaway companions, new world champion Mads Pedersen (Denmark) and silver medalist Matteo Trentin (Italy), were strong in the sprint and that he had no regrets about losing the world title.

"I have no regrets. I ran with all my heart. I gave everything I had. I lost to the other two."

Due to inclement weather and flooding, organizers changed and shortened the elite men's 261km road race. Küng and American Lawson Craddock managed to break away late in the race, from the fifth to the last lap of the Harrogate finish circuit. Pedersen bridged, Gianni Moscon (ITA), and after Craddock dropped out, Trentin and Mathieu van der Pol (NL) joined them.

"In the end, looking at the circuit and the weather, I knew I needed to be one step ahead of the others. 'It was my job to cover that move. In the last race, in those conditions, I had no choice but to ride like this. Lawson is a really strong rider and I followed him. When Matteo and Mathieu came in they were really strong.

Kuehn, Moscon, Trentin, and Van der Pol continued to push the limits of the breakaway group on Harrogate's demanding 14km finish circuit.

"We ran 65km, so we missed some of the punch," said Kühn. 'I rode 65km, so I missed the punchy bits. I gave it my all on the last climb and tried to drop them, but they were strong enough to stay with me."

Van der Pol dropped out on the last lap, and Moscon, who was leading the breakaway group for Trentin, lost contact on the final climb. Küng was the first to attack on the descent of the climb before the finish line in his bid for the world title.

His efforts were no match for the faster Trentin and Pedersen, who both caught and passed him; the two sprinted to the finish, with Pedersen taking the world title and Trentin the silver. Küng finished with the bronze medal.

Küng's bronze medal was the first medal won by Switzerland in an elite men's road race since Markus Zberg won silver in Verona in 1999. The year before, Oscar Camenzinto had won Switzerland's last world title in the elite men's road race in Valkenberg.

Küng said he was not disappointed to miss out on the rainbow jersey because he did his best.

"I had a goal, I was focused, I prepared hard," he said. I went to a high altitude training camp for the World Championships. There are two races. I knew I had a great chance to medal in the time trial. My teammates told me that when you're in good shape, you're in good shape, and you don't heal in a few days.

"I kept that in mind. I had won two races before I came here, one from a distance. I think that's my style of racing. Once I get out there, I can hold on. In the end, today's tactics were good. I wouldn't try anything different."