Remco Evenepoel has won the men’s elite European Championships road race after recovering from a crash and narrowly beating Italy’s Giulio Ciccone in a two-man sprint in Slovenia.
The Belgian rider crossed the line alongside Ciccone after a decisive late breakaway, with the result settled by photo finish. Reports from Escape Collective described the margin as exceptionally close, while Cyclism’Actu reported that the verdict was separated by only a millimetre.
Evenepoel’s success came after an eventful closing phase in which he attacked, crashed in a corner and then returned to the front before making another move. Ciccone was the only rider able to remain with him after the Belgian’s second acceleration, setting up a contest that lasted to the finish.
The title adds the European road-race jersey to Evenepoel’s European time-trial victory earlier in the championships. Cyclism’Actu reported that the Belgian regarded the result as completing his collection of championship titles across national, world, Olympic and European road and time-trial events.
A crash could not stop Evenepoel’s second move
The race reached its crucial point on the penultimate ascent of the Mǒzjanca climb, listed by Escape Collective as 2.1km at an average gradient of 10.3%. Evenepoel and Ciccone attacked at almost the same moment and quickly created a small advantage.
Evenepoel initially appeared to be gaining ground on his Italian rival, according to Escape Collective’s account, but slid out on a narrow right-hand corner. The incident allowed a larger group of riders to regroup on the plateau, removing the pair’s early advantage.
That setback did not end the Belgian’s challenge. Escape Collective reported that Evenepoel attacked again as the descent began, with Ciccone again the sole rider capable of following. The pair then spent roughly 30km at the front of the race.
Evenepoel reportedly did most of the work in the leading duo while Italy’s Christian Scaroni tried to bridge across from the chasing group. However, the gap was already too substantial for the pursuit to overturn, leaving the two leaders to settle the European title between themselves.
The sequence underlined the difference between creating a promising move and converting it into a victory. Evenepoel had to rebuild his position after the crash, then ensure his renewed attack was strong enough to isolate Ciccone from the remaining contenders. Once the race had become a two-rider contest, the title would be decided directly between Evenepoel and Ciccone.
Photo finish decides a tense final sprint
Ciccone tried to take control through the final corner, according to Escape Collective, before launching his sprint from Evenepoel’s wheel with about 300 metres remaining. The Italian opened several bike lengths, putting Evenepoel under pressure after the Belgian had carried much of the workload at the front.
Evenepoel fought back as Ciccone began to fade, and the pair reached the line almost together. The photo-finish decision gave the Belgian victory by the narrowest reported margin.
Cyclism’Actu reported that Evenepoel said afterwards that he had felt he was coming back in the sprint but had been unable to be certain of the result until the images confirmed it. The report also said he considered the race emotionally significant following Belgium’s disappointment at the world championships.
His European road-race win is particularly notable because it followed the time-trial title in the same championships. That double gave Evenepoel the European road-race and time-trial titles, while the road result also showed that his race was not defined by the earlier crash.
Tadej Pogačar, the reigning European champion, did not start in Slovenia after his Vuelta a España crash, Escape Collective reported. His absence meant the reigning champion was not on the start line. Evenepoel still had to respond to a crash, distance the field a second time and beat Ciccone in a finish decided only by the photo.
For Ciccone, second place followed a performance in which he matched Evenepoel’s decisive accelerations and briefly appeared to have won the sprint. For Evenepoel, however, the final ruling confirmed a European title earned through recovery, repeated attacking and a remarkably close finish.