Who won the last five European Championships? - Evenepoel, Roglic and Ciccone battle to add name to the history books in Slovenia
Cycling
The European Championships have changed hands in each of the past five editions, but not with the same script. Between 2021 and 2025, the continental title moved from the legs of a classics specialist like Sonny Colbrelli to those of a pure sprinter like Fabio Jakobsen, before Christophe Laporte, Tim Merlier, and finally Tadej Pogacar imposed completely different profiles.
This roll of honour, which today will add a new name to its short list, shows how elite cycling has evolved. The Europeans have staged duels between some of the world’s best riders: Remco Evenepoel, Wout van Aert, Olav Kooij, Arnaud Démare, and Tim Merlier appear repeatedly across these five editions.
But they are also five very different stories. Colbrelli beat Evenepoel in a brutal race in Trento. Jakobsen made his top speed count in Munich. Laporte survived a near-surreal tactical battle between teammates. Merlier delivered in the expected bunch sprint in Belgium. And Pogacar simply turned the 2025 race, packed with big names, into a solo exhibition.
Five champions, five ways to win, and five very different presents. Some remain absolute references in the peloton, others are rebuilding, and one of them, Colbrelli, had to leave the professional ranks far earlier than planned.
Sonny Colbrelli drove Remco Evenepoel to distraction
The Italian won the 2021 European title in Trento after one of the most demanding races of recent editions. The big favourite was Remco Evenepoel, but the Belgian could not shake off Colbrelli. After a race laced with attacks, Tadej Pogacar also joined the decisive selection with around 40 kilometres to go. Evenepoel then launched the final offensive, and only Colbrelli and Benoît Cosnefroy could follow. The Frenchman cracked on the last climb, leaving the title to a duel between Italy and Belgium.
Evenepoel tried everything to drop the Italian, but Colbrelli resisted every acceleration. The outcome suited him perfectly: a two-up sprint where his punch and experience proved decisive. The Italian beat the Belgian, and Cosnefroy completed the podium at 1:30. That victory crowned an extraordinary 2021 for Colbrelli, who had also won Paris-Roubaix and the Italian National Championships.
However, that was virtually the end of his competitive career. In March 2022 he suffered a severe cardiac arrhythmia after stage 1 of the Volta a Catalunya and required a defibrillator implant. Colbrelli announced his retirement months later, deeming it too risky to continue racing. He is now away from competition, still linked to cycling from other angles, and works in a bike-related business.
Fabio Jakobsen tras ganar un titulo de campeon de Europa en Munich
Fabio Jakobsen, the raw power of a sprinter who gave no quarter
The 2022 European Championships in Munich followed a clear script: a favourable route and an outstanding field of sprinters. Jakobsen started as one of the main favourites, with Tim Merlier and Arnaud Démare as his biggest threats. Italy tried to harden the race at times, but cooperation between the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and other teams ultimately ensured a united peloton into the decisive phase.
Jakobsen even rode through one of the course’s few tough moments, a climb near 10%. The Netherlands then shut down late moves, and Danny van Poppel did crucial work in the final kilometres. The Dutchman slotted onto Merlier’s wheel and, when the Belgian opened his sprint, Jakobsen launched and came past decisively. Démare was second and Merlier third.
That was Jakobsen’s high point after a brilliant 2022 season with 13 wins. Since then, his path has been far tougher. Physical issues and the struggle to regain top-end speed have sharply reduced his impact, and in 2026 he has no victories and just 10 points according to ProCyclingStats. His move to Visma | Lease a Bike for 2027 represents a new chance to rediscover the sprinter once considered among the world’s fastest.
Christophe Laporte, a victory against his own teammates
Laporte’s 2023 triumph was probably the strangest of the five. France found itself in a privileged position in the finale, but the big problem for other nations was that the Netherlands and Belgium had riders from the same trade team as Laporte: Wout van Aert and Olav Kooij then shared the Jumbo-Visma colours. The race turned into a tactical chess match where national strategies and team relationships inevitably intertwined.
Laporte attacked in the final kilometres from a lead group and prised open a small gap. The margin was never big, but France kept their rivals at bay while Van Aert and Kooij weighed up how hard they should chase their own teammate. Van Aert nearly reached Laporte’s wheel in the final metres, but the Frenchman held firm for gold, with Van Aert second and Kooij third.
The 2023 European champion remains a rider of the highest calibre, even if he is no longer in the blazing form of 2022 and 2023. After a very quiet 2025, Laporte has recovered part of his edge in 2026: he has one win and standout results in the spring classics, including fifth at Paris-Roubaix and third at Gent-Wevelgem. His current role still blends winning potential with an increasingly important support function within Visma - Lease a Bike.
Tim Melier posa con la medalla de oro del Campeonato de Europa
Tim Merlier, the man who turned the Europeans into Belgian territory
Merlier arrived at the 2024 Europeans carrying huge responsibility. The race was held in Belgium and the Limburg course, despite including climbs and cobbled sectors, was designed so the big sprinters could survive. The Belgian faced Olav Kooij, Madis Mihkels and his compatriot Jasper Philipsen, along with other riders capable of disrupting a bunch finish.
The route proved far trickier than it looked and Merlier even suffered a puncture around 90 kilometres from the line. He still made it back and hit the decisive phase perfectly placed. When the sprint launched, the Belgian had to surf wheels in a chaotic finale and found just enough space to overhaul Kooij and Mihkels. It was his first major continental victory and also Belgium’s first European gold in this event.
Two years on, Merlier remains one of the world’s premier sprinters. His 2026 is far from a down year: nine wins and 764 points in just 33 race days underline his status as a reference in international sprinting. His evolution has been notable too, showing he can endure increasingly demanding routes, which lets him target far more than dead-flat finishes.
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Tadej Pogacar, a masterclass that defied every prediction
Pogacar won the 2025 Europeans in a way entirely different to his four predecessors. He didn’t wait for a sprint or play out a late tactical battle. The Slovenian turned the European Championship into a show of force, attacking with around 75 kilometres still to race. The Ardèche route was tough enough to make such a move viable, but the distance still looked wild, even for a modern legend.
Remco Evenepoel was his main rival and took silver, while Paul Seixas surprised for bronze. The Belgian tried to answer the Slovenian’s moves, but Pogacar steadily increased the gap and reached the finish alone. The decisive attack came on the climb to Saint-Romain-de-Lerps and the world champion won by 31 seconds over Evenepoel and 3:41 over Seixas.
Pogacar’s present, however, is very different to that day. In 2026 he dominated the Tour again and kept stacking wins until a crash at the Vuelta a España left him with a broken collarbone and a neck injury. Recovery forced him to skip the Worlds, the Europeans and Lombardia. He is back training on the bike, but UAE Emirates XRG confirmed he will not race again in 2026 and plans to return in 2027. The European champion will have to wait to defend his crown.
Complete European Championship roll of honour
| Edition | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 2016 | Peter Sagan | Julian Alaphilippe | Dani Moreno |
| 2017 | Alexander Kristoff | Elia Viviani | Moreno Hofland |
| 2018 | Matteo Trentin | Mathieu van der Poel | Wout van Aert |
| 2019 | Elia Viviani | Yves Lampaert | Pascal Ackermann |
| 2020 | Giacomo Nizzolo | Arnaud Démare | Pascal Ackermann |
| 2021 | Sonny Colbrelli | Remco Evenepoel | Benoît Cosnefroy |
| 2022 | Fabio Jakobsen | Arnaud Démare | Tim Merlier |
| 2023 | Christophe Laporte | Wout van Aert | Olav Kooij |
| 2024 | Tim Merlier | Olav Kooij | Madis Mihkels |
| 2025 | Tadej Pogačar | Remco Evenepoel | Paul Seixas |
Javier RampeCycling Journalist
Javier Rampe is a sports analyst with more than 15 years of experience. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rome and a Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Cádiz. Despite coming from an academic background not particularly associated with cycling, his passion for both cycling and journalism was instilled in him from an early age. He grew up following Miguel Indurain and José María “El Chava” Jiménez. An admirer of Michael Robinson’s communication style and journalistic approach, he was inspired to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of Buenos Aires, which he is currently completing.
He has always maintained close ties with the worlds of sport and culture, contributing from a young age to sports blogs and film and music review websites. His work has appeared in media outlets such as Cope, RAI, and Radio Con Vos. He is also the founder of the cycling-focused podcast El Contraanálisis and the football interview channel Días De Fútbol, dedicated to conversations with professional footballers.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Javier has interviewed some of the most influential figures in modern cycling, including Alejandro Valverde and Tadej Pogačar, as well as key voices in anti-doping policy such as Alberto Yelmo, David Varillas, and Marcelo Milano. Marcos Maynar, in relation to the ‘Operación Ílex’ case, is also among the personalities he has interviewed. He enjoys conducting in-depth analysis of the cycling ecosystem and has attended major events such as Strade Bianche, the Vuelta a Andalucía, and Itzulia, as well as numerous national cyclo-cross races.
His background in economics, combined with extensive experience in marketing and corporate communications, drives his continuous study of positioning strategies and ensures that he always keeps his focus on crafting compelling and evocative headlines.
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- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
- You do? My mother grew up around Bleiburg (Pliberk), across the border in Austria . My grandparents lived close to the train station in Bleiburg, and I spent a lot of the 70s and 80s there. The "Jugo" train of my youth went to Dravograd or Maribor, exotic places (behind the wall) at the time. What a moment that was, the 10 days war of '91 - times sure have changed.RidesHills15-11-2026
- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
- I think Roglic could have beaten Sepp. not Jonas. I was referring to Sepp.mij15-11-2026
- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
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