Tim Merlier of Belgium came from behind in a messy, hectic sprint to win the elite men's road race title at the UEC Road European Championships in eastern Flanders.
Belgium had opted for an unusual two-sprinter team tactic, with Merlier and Jasper Philipsen given the freedom to ride their own sprint.
Philipsen managed to take the best line along the barriers but Merlier had far more speed and came along the outside. He soon got ahead of his rivals in sight of the line and had time to celebrate as Olav Kooij (Netherlands) took second and Madis Mihkels (Estonia) beat Philipsen to take third.
Italy had controlled the attacks by Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) and Mads Pedersen (Denmark) during the 222km race and even led out the sprint only to be swamped in the final five hundred metres. Jonathan Milan struggled in the fight for the wheels and only finished 13th.
Merlier took his 14th and arguably the biggest win of the 2024 season. He celebrated with his family and young son. He admitted that he lost his chain with three hundred metres to go but recovered in time to launch his winning sprint.
"It's unbelievable," Merlier said. "My chain came off with three hundred metres 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 Belgium had a two-sprinter strategy because he was confident he could win.
"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.
"This jersey means a lot, after twice being the Belgian national champion. I said it was my last goal of the year. I've worked for this. I had two hard crashes in the last two weeks but I kept believing."
How it infolded
The riders signed on under a timid Belgian September sun, noticing that there was little wind. The sprinters were the happiest about the conditions, sensing their chances of a bunch sprint had increased, but they also feared that the climbs and cobbles of the 222.7km race around the Limburg lanes could shake up the race.
The riders rolled out of the shadows of the Heusden-Zolder velodrome at speed, with Mathis Le Berre (France), Jonas Rutsch (Germany), Ivo Oliveira (Portugal), Nils Brun (Switzerland) and Félix Ritzinger (Austria) soon forming the early break.
France put Rémi Cavagna on the front to chase and Le Berre was soon ordered to sit on. That angered the riders in the break, with Oliveira shouting to Le Berre to drop back and other riders trying to gap him.
The four plus Le Berre pushed on on the short laps of Hasselt but so did the peloton, with other nations putting a rider on the front to ensure the break never gained more than two minutes.
The work of Cavagna reduced the gap to a minute as the attackers started the Printhagendreef cobbles, the first of nine sectors after 85km. The Op de Kriezel cobbles came soon after and had more of an effect. Ritzinger was dropped from the attack as Le Burre and France changed their tactics, deciding to ride and force other teams to chase.
With 113km to go, the race twisted again and the final opened up early when Mathieu van der Poel made his first move. He surged away on an exposed sector and suddenly it was 'race on!'
Matteo Trentin joined him to defend Italy's interests, as did other riders and Dutch teammate Mike Teunissen. They soon caught the break but the peloton soon caught them to bring the race back together. Van der Poel soon went again, trying to make for a hard race but he was marked each time, as the riders covered the first of three rolling and cobbled circuits.
With 87km to go, on the Op de Kriezel cobbles, van der Poel went again and was again marked by Trentin. Mikkel Bjerg was also there for Denmark, while at the back, Tim Merlier had to chase after a puncture and roadside wheel change.
After ten kilometres, a quality group of chasers joined the van der Poel group to form a dangerous attack. Kasper Asgreen and Bjerg were there with Pedersen and so they drove the pace, knowing the Belgians were absent. More chasers and more attacks came, as the hilly circuit and cobbles inspired real Classics racing.
Next time up the Kolmontberg climb, Teunissen accelerated from the attack and Pedersen and Trentin joined him. Van der Poel wanted to be part of the action but missed the move, fortunately other riders closed the gap. The race came back together once again and Italy tried to control the peloton but more attacks came on the Op de Kriezel cobbled sector as the riders began the last lap of the circuit in south Limburg.
With 55 km to go, Pedersen made another attack to try to split the peloton. Van der Poel jumped in with him again and so did Christophe Laporte of France and Danny van Poppel of the Netherlands. They did not want to wait for a sprint finish.
However, Italy clearly did. Eduardo Affini used his time trial skills and domestique's speed to chase, calling for Germany and Belgium to help him. There was suddenly only 50 km to race and only 50 or so riders in the peloton due to the intense and fast racing.
In the attack were Mathieu van der Poel and Danny van Poppel (Netherlands), Christophe Laporte (France), Mads Pedersen (Denmark), Jonas Rutsch (Germany) and Arthur Kluckers (Luxembourg).
They gave their all but Italy and Belgium combined to drive the chase, pegging the gap at 15 seconds, with France and the Netherlands sitting in their wheels, watching and waiting.
The break and the peloton powered over the Kolmontberg and Zammelenberg climbs, with Affini and Maestri pulling for Italy and Teuns and Laurenz Rez for Belgium. A crash split the peloton just before the Printhagendreef cobbled sector but the catch finally came with 26km to go, the chances of a high-speed sprint finish becoming more certain.
Indeed, the Italian team took control of the peloton to set the pace and dissuade other attacks on the ride to the finish.
There were seven Azzurri on the front, only Mosca absent after working a lot earlier in the race. However, also waiting for a sprint finish were Olav Kooij (Netherlands), Alexander Kristoff (Norway), Arnaud Démare (France), Jasper Philipsen (Belgium) and Tim Merlier (Belgium) in the 53-rider group.
The riders passed through the finish with 14.2km to go, with Germany and France moving up to the front. There was a moment of calm before the sprint. Kasper Asgreen tried a solo attack and the Dane was allowed to hang out front, only to be swept up with five kilometres to go.
Søren Kragh Andersen then tried again for Denmark but Italy and especially Affini quickly chased him down. It was sprint time!
Italy led out the sprint but seemed to lack a final acceleration. The Dutch train moved up to position Kooj with two kilometres to go on a wide section of road.
Matteo Trentin led into the final kilometre and then Mattia Cattaneo took over in the final kilometre but the Italians were suddenly swamped before Simone Consonni could drag Milan clear for a run to the line.
Philipsen surged along the barriers and looked in the perfect position to win. Yet he lacked power and his Belgian rival Merlier surged past on the outside to win the sprint and so take the European title and pull on the distinctive European champion's jersey.
Results
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