Belgium took the unusual step of fielding two sprinters in a race that always looked as if it would end in a bunch sprint. However, while it was a sprinter’s race, the 222.8 km course from Heusden-Zolder to Hasselt in northern Flanders possessed enough short climbs, rolling hills and cobblestone stretches to inspire riders to be ultra aggressive. As a result, it was a highly entertaining race from start to finish.
No riders were more aggressive than current world road race champion Mathieu van der Poel and 2019 world road race champion Mads Pedersen of Denmark. They initiated and drove numerous breakaways throughout the race, starting with van der Poel’s move with 113 km to go. From that point on, the game was called “Breakaway Dancing.”
There were breakaways from breakaways, with sometimes three separate groups ahead of the peloton, which was driven primarily by the Belgians, working for Philipsen and Merlier, and the Italian teams, on behalf of Jonathan Milan. Every time, the bunch managed to bring back the various breakaway groups. That made for a very fast pace, so fast that with 20 km to go, only 53 of the 127 riders who started the race remained in the peloton.
But the attacks kept coming. In the final 10 km, Denmark’s Søren Kragh Andersen and Kasper Asgreen took turns bursting out of the bunch to try to soften up the other teams for a possible late attack by Pedersen. But it was in vain and the bunch entered the final km poised for a sprint.
As the Italians were overtaken by rival leadouts, Philipsen made his move on the inside. But he weakened, while Merlier – who had to deal with a chain problem only 300 m from the line – suddenly surged to the front and, despite Kooij’s late efforts, was a comfortable winner.
“It’s unbelievable,” the delighted winner said after the race. “My chain came off with 300 meters to go and I thought it was over. But I got going, found a gap and came out of the bunch at the right moment.”
Merlier confirmed that, originally, Philipsen had been the designated sprinter for Belgium but that he had asked to be added to the team. “I asked to be in the race because I believed I could win the championship. I did it and I’m proud of it,” he said.
A visibly disappointed Philipsen said that he’d had every chance but hadn’t been good enough. “I didn’t have the best legs and I didn’t have the best sprint. That’s cycling.”
Denmark’s Pedersen, who finished sixth, acknowledged that he had been beaten by the sprinters’ teams. “The Italians and Belgians didn’t have anyone in the break, so we knew they would be riding. So it was a race [of] them against us, and they won.”
Much of the work for the Italian team was done by Edoardo Affini. The 28-year-old Visma–Lease a Bike rider had already won two gold medals for Italy. On Wednesday, he took the European Time Trial Championship, beating out the Swiss speedster Stefan Küng by 9.59 seconds, with fellow Italian Matteo Cattani finishing third, 19.66 seconds behind his compatriot.
The following day, Affini was part of the gold-medal Italian mixed relay team. Germany won silver, 17 seconds adrift, with Belgium finishing third, at 1:33. However, despite his efforts, Milan was never in the picture during the final sprint and finished 13th.
2024 UEC ROAD EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tim Merlier, Belgium 4:37:09
- Olav Kooij, Netherlands same time
- Madis Mihkels, Estonia
- Jasper Philipsen, Belgium
- Alexander Kristoff, Norway
- Mads Pedersen, Denmark
- Pavel Bittner, Czechia
- Stanislaw Aniolkowski, Poland
- Christophe Laporte, France
- Alex Kirsch, Luxembourg
