Cycling: Peter Sagan wins Gent-Wevelgem one-day classic

Brilliant Slovakian rider Peter Sagan crossed the finish line on one wheel as he won Sunday's Gent-Wevelgem one-day classic. Sagan finished 23 seconds ahead of Slovenia's Borut Bozic and celebrated his victory in a rather unusual fashion for cyclists as he pulled a wheelie as he crossed the line. Former World Champion Mark Cavendish crossed the line in a group 40 seconds adrift, in a race shortened by 50km because of the unusually cold weather. Two-time defending champion Tom Boonen and classics specialist Fabian Cancellara both failed to finish. Boonen crashed out, while Cancellara, who put in some great work in helping his RadioShack team reel in the breakaway of an tough 25-man group that featured sprinters Sagan, Cavendish and Andre Greipel, pulled out 69km from the finish. Three riders escaped before the climb up the Catsberg but they were brought back in the peloton with 52km remaining. Then a group of 13 riders, featuring Sagan, immediately broke clear. That break looked strong and quickly established a two-and-a-half minute lead but Sagan, who had finished second in his previous two one-day races, Milan-San Remo and E3 Harelbeke, was determined to get victory on the cobbles in Flanders. "This time I didn't want to wait, because they were all watching. I had to find another solution," said the 23-year-old, who broke clear in the final kilometres. Sagan crossed the line in four hours, 29 minutes and 10 seconds while Bozic won the sprint for second, beating Belgium's Greg Van Avermaet while Team Sky's Bernhard Eisel finished seventh after getting himself into the break. The next one-day classic is the Tour of Flanders this week, March 31st, and Sagan is among the favourites again. Here are the odds for the most important five riders at Bet365: Fabian Cancellara - 2/1 Peter Sagan - 5/2 Tom Boonen - 10/1 Sylvain Chavanel - 10/1 Geraint Thomas - 16/1