On the women’s side, it was the same old, same old, as Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser became the first woman to win five European time trial championships. She is also the only rider, male or female, to have won the world and European time trial championships in the same year twice, this year and in 2025. Only one rider has achieved that feat once, Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands, in 2020.
A big day for Roglič and Slovenia
The short, 21.8km course was dominated by the Možjanca ascent (2.1km @ 10.4%!), which meant that riders with climbing ability had an advantage. Of the time trial specialists – such as France’s Bruno Armirail and Switzerland’s Stefan Küng – the 36-year-old Roglič was by far the best climber. He also benefited from the absence of five-time world time trial champion Remco Evenepoel, who won the European Road Race Championship on Sunday by a flea’s whisker. The Belgian preferred to use the week to prepare for Saturday’s Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the year.
Roglič led from the start, building a 12.9-second lead over Armirail at the first time check, with Belgium’s Ilan van Wilder third, at 15.8 seconds. The Slovenian’s lead shrank to 9.6 seconds at the second time check, with another French rider, 21-year-old Maxime Decomble, now sitting third, at 22.1 seconds. At the end, his winning margin was 6 seconds over Armirail, with Decomble 28 seconds adrift.
“It’s for me, but I think it’s also for all the people, everyone out all these days [of the Championships], not just today,” the delighted Roglič told TNT Sports. “All the people that make it possible to have these Championships in Slovenia. So I think it’s just beautiful to finish off this event for all of us.”
Later he told RTVSlo that he lost radio contact after just 1km of racing. “I kind of ran the whole race on feelings,” he added. “We have to review the data, but I certainly left everything on the track. Thankfully, that was enough for the title.” This was his second major international title, after winning the Olympic time trial gold medal in 2020 in Tokyo.
“I haven’t won at home many times,” he said. “I’ll definitely remember this for the rest of my life.” Asked about the key moment in the race, he quipped, “I tried to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible.”
Roglič will now ride in the European champion’s jersey all next year. “It’s beautiful,” he said. “Maybe I’ll only wear it at home, because we haven’t agreed yet what I’m going to do next. But no matter what, I’ll wear it.”
Roglič is leaving Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe at the end of the year, but he has not yet signed with another team. But no matter what he decides or how he performs in Il Lombardia, winning a European title at home is the ideal way to cap a successful career.
“I always say it’s hard to compare wins because each one is something special,” he said. “But winning at home is all the more beautiful. You don’t even look at what the race is like: whether it’s the European Championship or the Tour of Slovenia. Definitely a victory that I will remember.”
Reusser, who else?
In the Elite Women’s race, it came down to the expected duel between Reusser and world and European road race champion Demi Vollering of the Netherlands. The Možjanca climb seemed to give the advantage to Vollering, who is probably the best climber in the women’s peloton.
But Reusser led Vollering by 11.3 seconds at the first time check, unexpectedly gained more time on her on the section that included the climb, and won comfortably, by 23 seconds. France’s Juliette Berthet was the surprise bronze medal winner, finishing 1:09 behind the winner and 6 seconds ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy.
“I thought it was an absolutely beautiful day, and I told myself, ‘Let’s just make this a good race.’ And I’m so happy that I won,” Reusser told TNT Sports. “I think I can be very satisfied with a lot of things and some really good results [this year]. Even though there were a few things that didn’t go so well, there were also a lot of good things. So I think we can all be proud of this season.”
Looking toward 2027, the 35-year-old Reusser said, “There are so many things I want to change, improve, and work on. I’m especially looking forward to improving all our processes and, hopefully, getting some better results. That would be great.”
Having won the world and European time trial titles this year, as well as Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Tour de Suisse, and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift time trial, what else could she want? No doubt, she wants a Grand Tour title, which she has never won – though she finished second twice at the Vuelta a España Femenina. That means she and Vollering and Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney will clash for at least one more year. That’s good news for everybody and for the sport.
Results 2026 Elite Men’s European Championship Time Trial
| Pos. | Rider | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Primož Roglič | Slovenia | 28:16 |
| 2 | Bruno Armirail | France | +0:07 |
| 3 | Maxime Decomble | France | +0:28 |
| 4 | Ilan van Wilder | Belgium | +0:33 |
| 5 | Stefan Küng | Switzerland | +0:35 |
| 6 | Kasper Asgreen | Denmark | +0:45 |
| 7 | Marco Frigo | Italy | +0:55 |
| 8 | Jakob Söderqvist | Sweden | +0:55 |
| 9 | Callum Thornley | Great Britain | +0:56 |
| 10 | Iván Romeo | Spain | +0:57 |
Results 2026 Elite Women’s European Championship Time Trial
| Pos. | Rider | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marlen Reusser | Switzerland | 31:30 |
| 2 | Demi Vollering | Netherlands | +0:23 |
| 3 | Juliette Berthet | France | +1:10 |
| 4 | Elisa Longo Borghini | Italy | +1:16 |
| 5 | Dominika Włodarczyk | Poland | +1:30 |
| 6 | Cédrine Kerbaol | France | +2:00 |
| 7 | Sandrine Tas | Belgium | +2:01 |
| 8 | Lauren Dickson | Great Britain | +2:22 |
| 9 | Lotte Claes | Belgium | +2:37 |
| 10 | Lieke Nooijen | Netherlands | +2:40 |