The 30-year-old was seeking a fifth world title in the event, which would tie him alongside France’s Julien Absalon as the record winner.

While Absalon was expected to prove a major threat during the six lap race, home favourite and reigning Olympic champion Jaroslav Kulhavy made an early move, with his team-mate Ondrej Cink and Schurter.

The trio were eventually joined by Absalon at the half-way mark of the event, which took place in front of a crowd of 23,000 spectators.

With two laps remaining, Schurter launched his bid for victory and proved able to break clear of Absalon and Kulhavy, as well as the fading Cink.

The Swiss star eventually crossed the line in a time of 1hr 28min and 20sec to secure his fifth world title, with Kulhavy claiming second in front of a home crowd in a time of 1:28:37.

Absalon, who won the European title earlier this year, completed the podium by finishing in 1:28:50.

"I'm super happy about this race, it was a nice win," said Schurter, who will hope to claim Olympic gold at Rio 2016, after bronze at Beijing 2008 and silver at London 2012.

“When Absalon joined us I thought well now it's better to attack and see if the others could respond.

“It is amazing, the crowd go wild when Kulhavy comes by, there’s a really great atmosphere here.

“It is always nice to battle with Absalon, and the best feeling is to beat those two.”

Switzerland were denied gold in the women’s under 23 race, after Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds broke clear to earn a solo victory in a time of 1:16:08.

The Swiss duo of Sina Frei and Alessandra Keller completed the podium after clocking 1:17.12 and 1:17.30, with Britain’s Under-23 cyclo-cross world champion Evie Richards missing out on a medal after finishing fourth in 1:18.63.