"This is what time trial is all about: riding fast, faster than the others" - Edoardo Affini excited about the TT route in Emmen despie narrowly missing out on gold

The European Championship Mixed Relay was held in Emmen on Thursday. In the end, the French formation narrowly defeated the Italian selection. Edoardo Affini gave everything with the men's trio and clocked the fastest time in the first half.

The Jumbo-Visma rider, who has a Dutch girlfriend and therefore also speaks good Dutch, crossed the finish line totally empty with teammates Mattia Cattaneo and Matteo Sobrero, but in the end they fell four seconds short of the gold medal in Emmen. "It was a fast course, we had to pace it well. We were constantly riding on the limit and maybe we even started a little too fast," Affini tells In de Leiderstrui.

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Just like the Dutch riders, Affini was very pleased with the course in Drenthe. "If you ask me personally: this is the perfect course. This is what time trial is all about: riding fast, faster than the other riders. That's the case everywhere, but you also need to have longer stretches where you can ride at full speed and really push."