Slovenia – One week after the World Championships in Montréal, Belgian Cycling lined up for another international championship. On Sunday 4 October, the elite men raced from Ljubljana to Šenčur for the European road title. After 196.3 kilometres, five ascents of Možjanca and a photo finish, Remco Evenepoel earned the right to wear the European stars for the first time.

📸 Images: Belga Image

The opening 85 kilometres from Ljubljana were largely flat, helping push the race towards an eventual average speed of 45.9 km/h. After that, the character of the course changed completely. In and around Šenčur, the elite men entered a 22.1 kilometre local circuit, which they had to complete five times.

At the heart of each lap was Možjanca. A climb that is only 2.1 kilometres long, but averaged around 10.2%, with sections reaching almost 16%. Across the full 196.3 kilometre race, the riders accumulated 2,571 metres of elevation gain, with the five passages over Možjanca gradually reducing the group lap after lap.

With around 80 kilometres remaining, the early breakaway was finally caught. Belgium and Italy then took control of the race. The decisive phase began 36 kilometres from the finish, when Giulio Ciccone attacked and Evenepoel immediately responded. But moments later, the Belgian suddenly hit the ground. Evenepoel lost control of his bike in a corner, allowing Ciccone to continue alone. He was quickly back on his feet and managed to rejoin the chasing group. Ciccone was also brought back. 

Not long afterwards, Evenepoel attacked again. This time, only Ciccone could follow. Together, they entered the final lap. Behind them, riders including Christian Scaroni, Primož Roglič and the French team tried to close the gap, but Evenepoel and Ciccone remained clear at the front. Maxim Van Gils and Ramses Debruyne continued to ride strongly behind their leader and eventually finished eighth and sixth respectively.

After 4 hours, 16 minutes and 37 seconds of racing, and almost 200 kilometres in the legs, the European title would not be decided by a solo move, but by a two-man sprint. Ciccone launched first. Evenepoel drew alongside him, and both riders threw their bikes towards the line. Even after the finish, there was no immediate certainty over who had won, but the photo finish provided the answer. Remco Evenepoel was the winner by just a few millimetres. Christian Scaroni finished third, 59 seconds behind.

With victory in Slovenia, Remco Evenepoel finally added the European road title to his record. It was the one major championship jersey still missing from his collection. After silver in previous editions, this was the title that had kept escaping him, until now.

That win completed something no rider had achieved before. 

🎥 Video: Face Peeters