"The grit was still there, but the legs not": Christian Scaroni regrets missing out on European Championships podium
Cycling
Cristian Scaroni is one of the main reasons XDS Astana will be a WorldTour team also for the next three years. The Italian whose career nearly ended three years ago with the closure of Gazprom surpassed his limits and quadrupled his UCI points from last year to crucially contribute to the Kazakh team's survival. A sweet reward for his steep improvement was first ever call-up to represent Italy at the European Championships where not much was missing for a medal outcome.
"I have a bitter taste in my mouth and I'm trying to take the good," Scaroni looked back in an interview with bici.pro. "Then behind those two, Pogacar and Evenepoel, it would have been even harder. But someone had to finish fourth and it fell to me..."
Before this season, Scaroni was never called up to represent his country at the big Championships. Now suddenly, after a breakthrough season that saw him triumph five times, the 27-year-old was immediately promoted to the role of leader for European Continental Championships.
The climby course was not new to Scaroni. The Faun-Ardeche Classics in March featured the Val d'Enfer climb as well. And as it was a race where Scaroni finished 5th, the decision whether to send Scaroni to Kigali, or let him stay in Europe, was not difficult.
"I had raced at the beginning of the season on the European Championships course," he recalled before continuing: "It was an identical race, a little less tough, because the long climb was twice as short and, I think, four times less steep," Scaroni laughs.
Cristian Scaroni wasn't far off standing next to Pogacar and Evenepoel last Sunday
The Italian team's coaching staff divided the leadership between Giulio Ciccone (Kigali) and Scaroni (Ardeche) to keep everyone happy.
"I talked about it with (Maurizio) Mazzoleni. And from the moment I learned that the European Championships would be held on that course, which represents the perfect synthesis of my characteristics, I started thinking seriously about it. I had also considered the World Championships, but I knew that if I had raced in Rwanda, I wouldn't have been able to prepare optimally for the European Championships."
When medal disappeared on the horizon
As the race developed, a trio with Juan Ayuso, Paul Seixas and Scaroni in it formed in the battle for last podium spot as Pogacar and Evenepoel put minutes into everyone else. The battle for bronze medal remained close for a long time as nobody wanted to go too soon and blow up before the finale. Thus the decisive point came on the last time up Val d'Enfer.
"We were all exhausted, having ridden 110 kilometers between the four of us. Then Remco left, and the three of us were pretty worn out. As soon as we reached the climb, Ayuso dropped away. I was already dropping halfway, but with the strength of pride I told myself to hang in there, because the road was flattening out a bit above, and that's when I overrevved for the first time."
"I managed to catch my breath for two seconds, and when Seixas gave it back to me, I tried to react. But 50 meters from the categorized point, I sat down and my legs fell apart. A shame, because he crested the hill 10 meters ahead of me, but I had really given it my all. The grit was still there, but the legs were missing."
The positive about the result
Still, against some of the best riders in Europe, Scaroni was able to hold his own and lost only to superstars Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel and the future superstar Paul Seixas who was merely 10 meters stronger than him after five hours of racing.
"The thing that sticks with me most is that once again, not that I needed it, I proved to myself and everyone else that on certain types of courses, if I'm well and have prepared for the event, I can compete with anyone . My only regret is not having brought home the medal, but that's how it went and we have to take what's good. What we did in the national team was important."
Read also
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment