Video slow-mo | Ciccone queries Euros verdict, now demands clear proof

Remco Evenepoel got the verdict over Giulio Ciccone, though the Italian - while magnanimous - is now calling for "transparency" over the European Road Race Championships photo-finish evidence Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) was the delighted and emotional winner of the elite men's road race at the European Championships in Slovenia on Sunday, with runner-up Giulio Ciccone (Italy) devastated at just how close he came to the gold medal. The Italian rider is a top tier performer and very nearly won the day, which, incredibly, would have given him his first victory of the season. Ciccone got the jump in the sprint, expertly overtaking Evenepoel on a late bend, and opened what looked like a winning gap. But he went quite early, and Evenepoel used his power to lose up to Ciccone’s back wheel. The Belgian then drew level with the Italian, before beating him with a lunge to the line for the ages. Ciccone is now protesting (see quotes below) the manner the two-up sprint for the Continental title was adjudicated, but is still magnanimous He believes Evenepoel was the strongest rider in the race, going out of his way to stress that point. But he is still clearly unhappy with the way the photo-finish scenario was handled. Ciccone 🇮🇹 was ahead of Evenepoel 🇧🇪 just before (and after) the line, but the lunge won it ON the line for the Belgian 🇪🇺 🤷‍♂️ https://t.co/XnoAcT0qpJ — StickyBottle.com 💚 🚲 (@sticky_bottle) October 6, 2026 Related News The gold-silver sprint was so close that, in some versions of the photo-finish image that have emerged, it is impossible to see clearly how the decision went one way or the other. And though Ciccone has stopped well short of claiming he won, or that he was cheated, he has called for clearer photo-finish evidence to conclusively show who won. "Remco was the strongest rider. He rode as a champion. He could interpret and manage a complex race and offered an extraordinary performance,” Ciccone said. But he also pointed out the title was awarded by such close margin - "a difference of 0.0028 seconds, 2.8 thousands" - that a better visual was required to back that up. "I've looked at the available images hundreds of times and, in the filming where the finish line is visible, I keep seeing a dynamic that I cannot reconcile with that verdict," he added on Instagram. "The commissioners, together with the federal technicians, explained to me how it works and the criteria with which the photo finish was interpreted. So I'm not asking for another explanation." Remco Evenepoel of Belgium, left, and Giulio Ciccone of Italy in the tightest finish ever for the men's European road race title, played out in Šenčur, Slovenia, on Sunday (Photo: Roberto Bettini-Sprint Cycling Agency) He continued: "I am asking to see the photo finish that corresponds exactly to the actual finish line. I would like to be able to see, unmistakably, the passing of our two wheels at the exact point where, according to the regulations, arrival is determined. "Because, if a European title is decided by 2.8 millenniums of a second, I think it’s legitimate to ask that the very passage can be shown with the same precision with which the result was determined. "I'm not asking that a television shoot will replace photo finish. I'm not questioning the value of Remco, nor the amazing race he rode. I’m asking a very simple question: To see the photo finish on the real finish line. “If that picture confirms the verdict, there is nothing else to add. But until that correspondence is shown to me, for me it remains a question to which I have not yet received an answer."