News Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium out-sprinted Jakob Fuglsang and Rafal Majka on the long run to the finish at Copacabana Beach on Saturday to win the men's Olympic road race Some big names suffered on a challenging Rio 2016 Olympic course Poland's Rafal Majka built a 30 second lead near the end, as Geraint Thomas from Great Britain, Italian Vincenzo Nibali, Colombia's Sergio Henao and Richie Porte of Australia all fell on a downhill section of the tough road race course It seemed that Majka might take home the gold, but Majka was eventually reeled in as the race neared the finish, where a sun-splashed crowd that had spent the day on the beach gathered to welcome them Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) and Greg Van Avermaet dug deep at the finish in Copacabana, and Majka, with pain etched across his face, could not hold off the pair, with the Belgian edging Fugslang at the finishing line   Poland's Rafal Majka could not hold on to the gold medal position and settled for bronze (Photo: Getty Images/Alexander Hassenstein) Thomas showed courage to get back on his bike after that crash, and finished 11th  Stunning scenery provided an epic backdrop to what was a very competitive event   Top British riders Chris Froome and Adam Yates had been well-placed in the peloton, but were unable to hold the pace Tough course Riders headed along the brilliant beaches of high-end neighborhoods Ipanema and Leblon, then began attacking each other on their way south The day's break quickly formed when six riders slipped away and built a gap of nearly eight minutes, among them former world champ Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland The demanding nature of the course became evident over the cobblestone sectors Ahmet Orken of Turkey was rattled off his bike Tour de France champion Chris Froome needed a bike change after a mechanical issue Richie Porte of Australia had his chain bounce off The break stayed clear through four laps of the Grumari Circuit, a 25-kilometre loop that began stringing out the field The riders then headed back toward Rio and began three climbs of Vista Chinesa, a tough uphill slog on forest-lined roads that splintered what was left of the peloton Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland led a break for almost 200km but was eventually overtaken by the peloton (Photo: Getty Images/Bryn Lennon) One by one, a pack driven by Britain, Spain and Italy pulled back the break Time trial favorites Porte and Nelson Oliveira of Portugal crashed during one of the fast descents, and Porte spent several minutes sitting beside the road before getting to his feet There was more drama on the final march over Vista Chinesa