Remco Evenepoel became European road champion for the first time as a professional after a tense photo finish in Sencur, Slovenia.
The Belgian beat Giulio Ciccone of Italy by the smallest of margins after a dramatic final kilometer. Ciccone entered the final corner better, gained several bike lengths, and launched first. Evenepoel closed rapidly and threw his bike at the line to take the title.
The victory gave Evenepoel a major response after his disappointing road race at the world championships. It also added an elite European title to the junior European road race crown he won in 2018.
European road champion decided by final throw
Evenepoel and Ciccone shaped the race on the penultimate lap, but the move nearly ended badly for the Belgian. After attacking on the Možjanca climb, Evenepoel went too fast into an uphill right-hand bend and lost his front wheel.
Ciccone continued alone over the summit while Primož Roglič chased behind. Belgium then committed riders to keep Evenepoel close enough to rejoin the fight.
Evenepoel recovered quickly and bridged back to Ciccone. With 25km remaining, the pair held 12 seconds over a chase group that still contained several contenders.
Roglič, racing on home roads for Slovenia, did much of the pursuit. Toms Skujiņš of Latvia, Emil Herzog of Germany, Iván Romeo of Spain, and Belgian teammates Ramses Debruyne and Maxim Van Gils also remained in the chase.
France had Léo Bisiaux, Manhys Rondel, and Clément Braz Afonso in the group. Christian Scaroni of Italy also stayed in contention behind the leading pair.
The gap had grown to 26 seconds at the start of the final lap. Rondel and Scaroni tried to jump across, but Evenepoel drove the pace on the climb and kept them distant.
Scaroni later attacked Rondel near the summit in pursuit of the front two. He could not reach them, but his move helped secure a podium place.
Ciccone waits, Evenepoel keeps driving
The final lap brought a tactical twist. Once race information confirmed Scaroni’s position, Ciccone made clear that he could not contribute much to the break.
Evenepoel continued to work at the front despite his frustration. He appeared committed to carrying the move to the finish and backing his sprint.
Ciccone began helping again inside the final 3km after his team car came alongside. His turns remained limited as he tried to save energy for the finish.
Evenepoel led toward the last corner, but Ciccone chose the better line and surged past. The Italian opened a clear gap and looked close to victory.
Evenepoel refused to concede. He chased all the way to the line and used the final bike throw to edge ahead in the photo finish.
Afterward, Evenepoel said he had slipped out after attacking too fast into the corner. He explained that Belgium stayed calm and returned to its plan before he attacked again.
He also said the sprint looked lost until Ciccone slowed in the final 100 meters. That gave him the chance to come past on the line.
Scaroni completes Italian double podium
Ciccone took silver after coming within centimeters of the title. Scaroni finished 59 seconds behind to claim bronze, giving Italy two medals.
Skujiņš attacked from the chase group to take fourth at 1:13. He finished three seconds ahead of Romeo and the remaining riders in that group.
The elite men’s race covered 197km. Like the women’s race, it opened with a mostly flat 85km section before reaching the finishing circuit.
The men completed five laps of the circuit, compared with two for the women. The Možjanca climb served as the main selection point.
A six-rider break formed early and held more than one minute on the first passage over the finish line. The peloton caught the move with 82km remaining.
The climb then steadily reduced the field. Juan Ayuso of Spain was among the riders dropped as the contenders thinned with each lap.
Slovenia controlled the pace on the penultimate ascent, raising expectations of a Roglič attack. Instead, Ciccone jumped clear with 36.3km to race.
Evenepoel joined immediately, accelerated past, crashed, recovered, and still delivered the winning move. His late surge earned Belgium the blue and white European champion’s jersey.
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