"I knew what I was doing" - Sven Vanthourenhout beams after his two-leaders strategy pays off at the European Championships

Sven Vanthourenhout went all or nothing with the selection for the home European Championships. Belgian fans - still vividly remembering the failed World Championships in Leuven 2021 were afraid the scenario might repeat with too many leaders in the basket. But the Belgian coach's gamble had paid off as it is Tim Merlier who crossed the line first in Hasselt.

Vanthourenhout admits bringing both Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen was a huge gamble, but a well-calculated one - he assures in an interview for Belgian media after the race. "You know that winning and losing are close together when you go into a final like that. But I really knew what I was doing. And I stood behind my choice 100% until the very last moment. The right one, as it turned out."

Read also

Javier Guillén encourages Primoz Roglic to focus on making cycling history: "Why don't we get the first rider to win his fifth Vuelta?"

"Merlier and Philipsen are two separate sprinters, each with their own specific way of getting to the finish line. Bert Van Lerberghe would come as late as possible with Tim, while Jasper had to be piloted by all the other available cones. That's how we settled it on Saturday evening at the last meeting."

"With me, no one leaves before everyone else agrees and is on the same wavelength. Because I really don't want any whining afterwards," he explains. "Everything went as agreed. The only difference was that Jasper no longer had the acceleration in his legs that Tim could still put in place. Otherwise we would have finished first and second!"

Read also

"300 meters from the finish my chain came off" - Tim Merlier's European Championship win made even more impressive by late mechanical

"This is a bit of a disappointment" - No joy for Mathieu van der Poel in Olav Kooij's silver medal for the Dutch at 2024 European Championships