(PRIMASPORT) LJUBLJANA – The men's elite road race at the European Cycling Championships awarded Italy two medals, but the continental title slipped away by just a few millimetres, with Remco Evenepoel winning in a photo finish over Giulio Ciccone, while Christian Scaroni took bronze. The Azzurri performed well in the race, eventually putting Ciccone in the best position to fight for the title. The Abruzzo rider capitalized on Evenepoel's crash, managing to stay on his wheel and joining the Belgian in a final battle. Ciccone took the bend as he had planned, emerged ahead, and launched the sprint. Evenepoel, however, fought back and narrowly managed to get his wheel in front of the Italian.
“When we got so close, I don't think either of us realized who had won. Those minutes after the finish, and especially the announcement of the result, were perhaps the most difficult of my career. I've never experienced second place like this, because there was a jersey at stake. When you lose it by so little, it hurts. Today I can say it: there's disappointment, real disappointment.” Ciccone, however, has nothing to reproach himself for: “We were super lucky with the situation that had arisen, and I was lucky to have the opportunity to stay on the wheel. I don't think you could have asked for a better scenario. Racing is like that. In the finale, I don't think I did anything wrong: I had studied that corner, I took it the way I wanted, and I exited the way I wanted. Remco pushed and in the end he was faster by just a few millimeters.”.
Behind him, Scaroni rounded out the podium with a solid performance. After putting in the work the team required, the Italian made a move in the final stages and managed to secure third place, finishing 59 seconds behind Evenepoel. “"There's still a bit of bitterness, because we lost by two or three millimeters, I don't think more. But I congratulate the entire team and all the players, because they played by the book, exactly as we had planned in last night's meeting. They were impeccable," commented coach Roberto Amadio.
The Technical Commissioner highlighted Ciccone's performance: "He didn't make any mistakes. He stayed with the best, and finishing second behind a rider who was just a few millimeters stronger is still a significant achievement, I think. We believed in it until the finish line, and today it went just like that." He then praised Scaroni: "He had a great European Championship. He covered Ciccone's breakaway, then we told him to follow the French, and he did. At a certain point, he went off on his own, and to cover all that distance from the climb to the finish with a small group of twelve riders circling behind him is no small feat.".
The double podium, according to Amadio, also represents a starting point: "Second and third place are important results for us, because they boost our morale and, above all, give us perspective. We've called up a lot of young players, bringing some to the World Cup and others here to the European Championships, precisely with the idea of building a team for the future.". (PRIMASPORT)
