Remco Evenepoel is crowned the new King of Europe

In a European that could pass without pain or glory due to the notable and more than well-known absences, the elite men’s online race left a good show enlivened by the great opportunist Remco Evenepoel. In front of the viewer Tadej Pogacarthe Belgian fell, got up, attacked and finished in a vibrant finish to the sprint in which He beat the Italian Giulio Ciccone in the photo finish. Christian Scaroni He completed the podium after a great attack on the final ascent to Mozjanca.

It could be an unattractive championship due to the losses of Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel or Paul Seixas. However, the route, marked especially by the attractive final circuit of 110 km with the elevation of Mozjanca (2.1 km at 10.3%) The main challenge was a tough race in which there was no respite during the last hour of competition.

Tense calm until the circuit

The first hour and a half of the race took place without too many surprisesbeyond the fight to be in the drain of the race. The countries with less quality or options to be ahead at the decisive moment of the test had their own particular struggle, from which six runners finally stood out: the Dutch Jochem Kerchaertthe Portuguese Tiago Antunesthe Slovenian Luka Mezgecthe swiss Fabian Weissthe Czech Joseph Cerny and the swedish Jakob Soderqvist.

Entered into the final circuit, The Belgian team did not give up and quickly took responsibility to lead the pack in the platoon. With the clear objective of seeing Remco dressed as European champion during the next year, they began to set a firm pace with which They neutralized the leak 82 km from the finish line and the first cyclists were seen losing weight respect to the peloton in the second pass through Mozjanca.

final ‘traca’

One of those who could not stand the Belgian step was the Spanish leader Juan Ayusowho had a bad day and was always seen at the back of the group. On the third ascent to the peak, the first really serious movements were seen, led by the Swiss Jan Christen on the rise and the French Pavel Sivakov in the ‘legbreaker’ section.

But until Remco wanted to. Fireworks were unleashed with the Belgian’s attack in the fourth round (with fall included), followed only by Giulio Cicconewhich the rest of the members of the main group, which included Iván Romeo, soon resigned. The advantage expanded until it was established between 45 seconds and one minuteand the only ones who tried it with total conviction and also managed to move forward were the Italian Christian Scaroni and the Frenchman Mathys Rondel.

Ciccone’s compatriot, an excellent ‘knife’ for this type of route, took the initiative and, with a marvelous attack that Rondel could not hold on to, he went alone towards the podium. Evenepoel and Ciccone, meanwhile, were taking over until reaching the last kilometers.

The outbreak of the ‘cold war’

Cooperation gave way to the game of looks, the mental game. The ‘cold war’ that existed between the two exploded in the last kilometer, specifically in the last 300 meters, when Giulio Ciccone launched a portentous attack with which he was able to gain a few meters over Evenepoel. Nevertheless, The Belgian recovered and, inch by inch, he regained ground until he surpassed it for nothing in the ‘photo finish’ to become the new European champion on the road. At the arrival of the main group, Romeo managed to finish 5th and be the best Spaniard.

In this way, Remco Evenepoel completes his World and European track record with the only test he had pending.