Michael Matthews, who finished seventh, was the best placed of an Australian team that included Bendigo's Chris Hamilton.

Julian Alaphilippe won the race to become the first Frencman to hold the rainbow jersey since 1997.

Hamilton's role was to support leading Australian chances Matthews and Richie Porte.

He played out his role before pulling out of the gruelling 258.2km event.

Matthews, Porte (25th) and Simon Clarke (44th) were the only Aussies to finish the race.

Alaphilippe had time to punch the air before raising his arms above his head as he crossed the finish line on Imola's auto racing circuit.

Belgian rider Wout van Aert won a sprint for second, 24 seconds behind Alaphilippe, with Marc Hirschi of Switzerland third at the end of the tough course.

The final race of the championships featured a total of 5,000 meters climbing in 258.2km.

Nine laps of a circuit started and finished on the city's auto racing track.

There were two brutal climbs on each lap - the Mazzolano and the Cima Gallisterna - and Alaphilippe attacked on the final ascent of the Gallisterna, with 12km remaining.

He swiftly established a slim advantage over a world-class chase group and held them off to secure victory.

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