“It’s incomprehensible how you can be a professional rider at the very top for so long and not know how the photo finish works” - Giulio Ciccone’s Euros criticism shut down
Cycling
Giulio Ciccone's questions over the photo finish that denied him the European title have been met with a blunt response from Belgian commentator Renaat Schotte.
Ciccone was beaten by Remco Evenepoel in one of the closest championship finishes in recent memory, the Belgian recovering several metres in the final straight before throwing his bike at the line and taking gold by a margin measured in millimetres.
The Italian congratulated Evenepoel afterwards and made clear that he considered him the strongest rider in the race, but later returned to the finish on social media. Having watched the available footage repeatedly, Ciccone said he wanted to see the photo finish corresponding exactly to the line used to decide the result.
Schotte had little patience for the doubts. "It's incomprehensible how you can have been a professional rider at the very top of the sport for so long and still not know how the photo finish works," he responded on WielerFlits' Instagram page. "The photo is the finish, Giulio."
Remco Evenepoel outsprinted Giulio Ciccone in a photo-finish at the European Championships
Two systems gave Evenepoel the same result
The UEC has since defended the process used in Slovenia, explaining that the official photo finish is created by continuously scanning the finish plane rather than taking a conventional photograph from the side of the road.
That method can make wheels and frames look distorted because the image is built over time, but the judgement itself is taken from the precise moment the front of each rider's front wheel crosses the finish plane.
Schotte pointed out that the technology has moved a long way from the older analogue systems once used in cycling. "Unlike working with the old analogue equipment, the margin for error has also effectively been reduced to zero in these digital times," he said. "That is also because of the protocol the operators have to follow."
There were two independent photo-finish setups in operation at the European Championships, both of which placed Evenepoel ahead. "At the European Championships there were even two devices showing exactly the same result," Schotte continued. "In that case, white stays white and never becomes black."
The exact time margin has been quoted differently since the race. Ciccone referred to 0.0028 seconds in his own post, while official timing provider EvoData later stated that the measured difference was 0.0002 seconds, equivalent to roughly three millimetres at the speed the pair crossed the line.
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"3mm is 3mm"
Schotte also pointed to previous occasions when photo-finish technology had been unable to separate riders at all.
Taylor Phinney and Guillaume Boivin shared bronze at the 2010 U23 World Championships after crossing together behind Michael Matthews and John Degenkolb, while earlier this season Adam Bradáč and Dušan Rajović were both awarded victory at the Umag Classic after officials could find no discernible difference between them. "A tie is perfectly possible," Schotte said.
In Ljubljana, both systems produced a measurable separation. "But Giulio, 3mm is 3mm, and practise your bike throw a little more!" Schotte added.
Ciccone has maintained that his issue is not with Evenepoel or the legitimacy of photo-finish technology itself. He said the system had already been explained to him by commissaires and Italian federation technicians, but wanted greater transparency over the exact image used for a decision so close.
The UEC says the images from both independent systems were made available to Ciccone and the Italian federation after the finish. With both returning Evenepoel as the winner, the governing body has now closed the matter and said it will make no further comment.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- BTW the list of classics you gave from PCS is participation, not winning
Rafionain-Glas07-10-2026 - Yes, though we saw that last week already.Jumpyjohn07-10-2026
- Or that riders get out in time.Jumpyjohn07-10-2026
- Hope he doesn’t stick with it just for that, would hate to see him exhibiting any has been footballer behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-10-2026
- Yep, that’s about it, couldn’t imagine someone wouldn’t get that.Jumpyjohn07-10-2026
- Time for your meds I thinkJumpyjohn07-10-2026
- No surprise here. Nice the oldies are having success, not the first discipline where you expect age to be an advantageJumpyjohn07-10-2026
- Any idea why Remco wasn’t there, Lombardia?Jumpyjohn07-10-2026
- Thanks for your explanations but you got one detail wrong, it’s not 1300 but 13000, which means at 46.8km/h (to make it easy) a frame every mm. Even if it was only 1300, it would be extremely unlikely (but theoretically possible with bike throwing) that between 3 consecutive frames (nothing to do with the composite image shown) one rider might straddle back or forward by a few mm in the hidden moments in between frames but at 13000 that’s impossible as it would mean actually travelling backwards between 2 frames as you cannot otherwise recede 2mm during the time to travel forward 1 mm.Mistermaumau07-10-2026
- Clownboy come up from his parents basement retreat !frieders307-10-2026
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