Results European Championships men's elite road race 2026 - Remco Evenepoel wins photo-finish sprint against Ciccone following dramatic crash

The men's elite road race at the 2026 Ljubljana European Championships has taken place this Sunday afternoon and Remco Evenepoel has returned to his winning ways. The Belgian rider was the strongest on the day, taking the win in a two-up sprint against Giulio Ciccone.

The breakaway of the day, after the riders left Ljubljana, was formed by Tiago Antunes, Jakob Söderqvist, Fabian Weiss, Luka Mezgec and Josef Cerny. The quintet carried high speed but didn't threaten the peloton, in which Belgium did most of the work controlling throughout the day.

The riders entered the Sencur circuit, with five ascents of the Mozjanca climb (2.1Km at 10%). One by one, the riders in the breakaway would get dropped; and the breakaway would be brought in with 82 kilometers to go.

Jan Christen attacked with 81 kilometers to go, followed by Giulio Pellizzari, but neither would get away from the Belgian train. Pavel Sivakov was briefly at the head of the race, but unsuccessfully having an impact in it. On the penultimate lap Belgium set the pace up the climb and Remco Evenepoel attacked with Giulio Ciccone in the wheel.

The Belgian then, crossing the summit of the climb, lost his front wheel and crashed. The dramatic moment appeared to potentially turn the race on its head, with Ciccone now isolated in front. But Belgium had the numbers and brought the race back together shortly after. Evenepoel then attacked the descent a few kilometers later, again followed by Ciccone.

The duo would collaborate and comfortably make way to the chasers behind, where both had teammates sitting on the wheels. Christian Scaroni attacked up the final climb behind, making his move towards the bronze medal. The front two appeared evenly matched uphill, and would settle their differences once they returned to town.

Giulio Ciccone played his cards right and took risks on the final corner, making the overtake on the inside and getting a small gap. The Italian appeared to be sprinting to victory, but Evenepoel came round in the final meters. Neither knew the outcome of the sprint; and only in the minute following it did both receive the news that Evenepoel had been the first to cross the line. Giulio Ciccone and Christian Scaroni completed the podium for Italy.