Remco Evenepoel is the new European Road Champion. The Belgian clinched the continental title today in Šenčur following a spectacular race, which was only decided by a photo finish against Italy’s Giulio Ciccone. Another Italian, Christian Scaroni, completed the podium.
The Men’s Elite race took place in front of an exceptional crowd, with 200.000 spectators lining the route, and in the presence of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, who followed the decisive stages of the race in Šenčur and witnessed this thrilling finale.
The Men’s Elite race, the highlight of the 2026 UEC Road European Championships, came to life from the very first minutes. After around twenty kilometres, Luka Mezgec (Slovenia), who was competing in the final race of his career, Jochem Kerckhaert (Netherlands), Fabian Weiss (Switzerland), Tiago Antunes (Portugal), Josef Černý (Cechia) and Jakob Söderqvist (Sweden) managed to break away.
Belgium quickly took control of the chase, keeping the six riders’ lead within a reasonable margin. The first climb up Možjanca also served to thin out the breakaway group, leaving Kerckhaert, Weiss and Antunes in the lead, whilst behind them, the pace set by the peloton continued to close the gap.
With around 80 kilometres to go, Italy’s surge helped to neutralise the breakaway once and for all.
The race then entered a new phase, characterised by several attacks and a gradual thinning of the field, with Belgium and Italy proving particularly active at the front.
The decisive moment came 36 kilometres from the finish. Giulio Ciccone took the lead with an attack, to which Remco Evenepoel immediately responded. The two riders quickly opened up a gap, but shortly afterwards, an unexpected incident turned the race on its head once again: whilst in the lead, Evenepoel lost control of his bike and crashed, leaving Ciccone alone at the front.
The Belgian, however, got back on his feet straight away and managed to rejoin the chasing group. Ciccone, who did not press on with his solo effort, was in turn caught, and the peloton regrouped.
Shortly afterwards, Evenepoel attacked again and Ciccone was once more the only one able to keep up with him. This time, the attack proved decisive.
By the time the bell rang, the leading duo had opened up a gap of around 30 seconds over a chasing group that included, amongst others, Primož Roglič, Mathys Rondel, Christian Scaroni, Iván Romeo and several Belgian and French riders.
It was France, in fact, that attempted to capitalise on its strength in numbers by sending Mathys Rondel in pursuit. Christian Scaroni set off alongside him, initially taking care to control the pace, before managing to change gear, drop the Frenchman and set off alone in pursuit of the leading duo.
In the final kilometres, the picture became clear: Evenepoel and Ciccone were in the lead, battling it out for the European title, whilst Scaroni was alone in pursuit, defending his bronze medal.
The battle for gold went down to the very last metre. Evenepoel and Ciccone entered the final bend together and were neck and neck on the home straight in Šenčur. The sprint was so close that crossing the finish line was not enough to immediately determine the winner.
Remco Evenepoel clinched the European title in a photo finish, beating Giulio Ciccone by just a few centimetres. Christian Scaroni completed the podium, securing two medals for Italy in the Championships’ flagship event.
Following his Olympic gold and world title, Evenepoel has now added the European Champion’s jersey to his extraordinary list of achievements.
The programme began this morning with the Women’s Junior event, in which Italy claimed the European title thanks to Azzurra Ballan, who won ahead of France’s Morgane Lestrade and Germany’s Klara Dworatzek.
The race really came to life after the first descent from Možjanca, when Azzurra Ballan, Morgane Lestrade, Leni Burger, Klara Dworatzek (Germany) and Naxara Odriozola (Spain) managed to break away, extending their lead over the peloton to more than two minutes.
On the second climb up Možjanca, Odriozola dropped back, leaving a quartet in the lead who managed to maintain a sufficient lead right up to the decisive stages.
On the final climb, Ballan and Lestrade attempted to pick up the pace but were unable to make a difference. The title was therefore decided in a four-way sprint, in which the Italian Ballan claimed the Junior European Women’s Champion’s jersey, finishing ahead of Morgane Lestrade and Klara Dworatzek.
For Azzurra Ballan, this victory is a family affair: the young Italian is in fact the daughter of Alessandro Ballan, the 2008 Road World Champion and winner of the Tour of Flanders in 2007.
Tomorrow, the European Championships will take a rest day and resume on Tuesday 6 October with the Mixed Junior Team Time Trial (starting at 11.00) and the Elite Team Time Trial (starting at 15.30).
