Peter Sagan claimed a historic third men's elite road race title ©Getty Images

Slovakia's Peter Sagan became the first rider to win three consecutive men’s elite road race titles at the Road World Championships by triumphing in a sprint finish here in Bergen.

Sagan had played down his prospects of achieving a historic victory in the build-up to the race, following a spell of illness, and he proved largely anonymous throughout the majority of the 267.5 kilometres.

He would appear at the crucial moment of the race, with the 27-year-old contesting and winning the sprint to the line.

The prospect of a sprint had appeared in the balance when France’s Julian Alaphilippe launched an attack on the final ascent of Salmon Hill, located at 10km from the finish.

Alaphilippe was joined in the move by Italy’s Gianni Moscon, with the pair opening up a narrow advantage over the chasing group.

The duo combined effectively until the closing four kilometres, where Alaphilippe surged on solo towards the finish.

The Frenchman would eventually be caught inside the final kilometre, making a sprint finish an inevitability.

Alexander Kristoff raised the prospect of a home world champion, with the Norwegian launching the acceleration toward the finish.

He would be forced to settle for the silver medal in a photo finish, with Sagan coming past to claim victory in a time of 6 hours 28min 11sec.

The podium would be rounded off by Australia’s Michael Matthews, who sprinted to bronze on the same time as the winner.

"In the last five kilometres I thought it was gone," Sagan said.

"It eventually came to a sprint, it is unbelievable.

"I am very happy to win again.

"It is something special for sure [a third straight title].

"For me it is very nice.

"It was very difficult for sure, I could not predict how it would work out."

Sagan is now one of only five riders to win the men’s road world title three times, joining Italy’s Alfredo Binda, Spain’s Óscar Freire, Rik Van Steenbergen and his Belgian compatriot Eddy Merckx.

He is the youngest to achieve the feat at the age of 27, while he is the only man to have won his world titles on three different continents.

Sagan’s first success came at Richmond in the United States in 2015, before he won in Qatar’s capital city Doha last year.

The Slovakian dedicated his victory to his pregnant wife and the late Italian cyclist Michele Scarponi.

Scarponi, who would have turned 28 tomorrow, was killed in a crash on a training ride in April.