Results European Championships 2026 elite women and U23 men - Major drama as Marie Schreiber RELEGATED after dramatic sprint as Lucinda Brand crowned European champion
Cyclocross
The Cyclocross European Championships elite women's race served up a dramatic final sprint as it appeared Marie Schreiber beat Lucinda Brand in a run to the line. However, shortly after the finish it has been reported that the Luxembourg rider had been relegated to second place for a sprint deviation - meaning Brand is the new European champion.
Schreiber looked to have become the first non-Dutch rider to win the race since 2017. However, Brand has now been confirmed as the winner after an entertaining battle between the two. Beforehand, France's Aubin Sparfel took the men's under-23 title in Zeddam.
World champion Lucinda Brand, Fem van Empel, defending champion Inge van der Heidijn, Aniek van Alphen and Celyin del Carmen Alvarado headlined a remarkably strong Netherlands team expected to command the direction of the race.
The opening two laps threw out an interesting race dynamic from the off as a non Dutch rider in Luxembourg's Marie Schreiber looked to upset the odds and surged to a healthy lead at the front, forcing the Netherlands' hand as Alvarado and Brand broke off in chase.
They found themselves 14 seconds adrift at the end of two laps as it appeared Brand was being relied upon to lead the chase. Behind, the Netherlands also dominated the main group behind.
Again the duo in chase seemed to struggle with cooperation as Brand attacked over the finish line into the fourth lap. However, Brand suffered a small crash in a corner as she lost ground as Alvarado made it across to Schreiber. With the Dutchwoman finally reaching the front, she went to work and drove a hard pace - despite Brand just around seven seconds behind the duo and the rest of the chase group over 40 seconds down.
Lucinda Brand
Brand joins Alvarado and Schreiber at the front
Into lap five, medals began to become the focus as it appeared the duo, and now, Brand just a second behind were enjoying such a gap that they could well end up on the podium.
In the penultimate lap, Brand began to race on her own terms as she took to the front. Despite being brought back Schreiber surged into corners and the key stepped section to keep pace with Brand while Alvarado battled hard to stay in touch.
Heading into the final lap, the trio took the bell as the gold medal came into full view. Both Brand and Alvarado held the advantage as former European and world champions as Schreiber chases her first major championships crown at elite level.
Early in the lap, Schreiber squeezed ahead of both riders up the pivotal 99 steps to surge ahead and put the pair under pressure on terrain that suited her. But Brand and Alvarado rallied to keep in touch.
Alvarado crashed in a wooded section as her chances for gold faded while Schreiber drove the pace with Brand in her wheel into the final sections of the race. The Luxembourgish rider hit the sand pit first as she took the final corner ahead with the world champion in her wheel for a final sprint.
She led out the sprint and opened up first down the centre with Brand in the slipstream - winning the sprint by a mere inches in a sensational finale. Not initially clear in the finish, Schreiber just edged out the world champion. Alvarado held on for third place, sporting an apparent injury to her hand and wrist.
However, shortly after, a review of the sprint saw Schreiber apparently deemed to have deviated in the line. The overhead shot showed the Luxembourgish rider move slightly to her left and in the way of Brand, who was sprinting on the barrier side.
In the U23 men's race, France's Aubin Sparfel was the big favourite after his perfect start to the season, with Belgian Giel Lejeune impressing in the early season and compatriot Viktor Vandenberghe in contention.
Sparfel takes gold medal
In a tense race, the Belgian pair fought well to hold the Decathlon rider's wheel throughout the course. Italian riders Filippo Grigolini and Stefano Viezzi also battled well but just missed out on the podium place.
At the end of seven laps, it came down to a sprint to the line on the long and slightly uphill final straight. However, Sparfel couldn't be denied a fourth victory in a row as he maintained his perfect start to the season - winning the U23 European champion's jersey ahead of Lejeune and Vandenburghe in second and third respectively.
Earlier in the day, the first medals of the day were won as Belgian rider Lentel Huys was crowned junior women's champion at the age of just 16 - winning by nine seconds over Swiss rider Shana Huber.
Speaking after the race, she said: “I won’t really realize it until the evening. Beforehand, I was hoping for a medal, but a jersey makes it just a touch more special. I still have a long way to go and a learning process ahead of me, but I still have plenty of time."
Read also
Results European Championships 2026 elite women
| Placing | Rider | Nation | Time |
| 1 | BRAND Lucinda | Netherlands | 51:37:00 |
| 2 | SCHREIBER Marie | Luxembourg | ,, |
| 3 | ALVARADO Ceylin del Carmen | Netherlands | 0:17 |
| 4 | VAN DER HEIJDEN Inge | Netherlands | 0:57 |
| 5 | BETSEMA Denise | Netherlands | 1:00:00 |
| 6 | BAKKER Manon | Netherlands | 1:02 |
| 7 | ZEMANOVÁ Kristýna | Czech Republic | 1:16 |
| 8 | CLAUZEL Hélène | France | 1:20 |
| 9 | VAN ALPHEN Aniek | Netherlands | ,, |
| 10 | BRAMATI Lucia | Italy | ,, |
Results European Championships 2026 U23 men
| Placing | Rider | Nation | Time |
| 1 | SPARFEL Aubin | France | 46:58:00 |
| 2 | LEJEUNE Giel | Belgium | ,, |
| 3 | VANDENBERGHE Viktor | Belgium | ,, |
| 4 | GRIGOLINI Filippo | Italy | ,, |
| 5 | VIEZZI Stefano | Italy | 0:05 |
| 6 | VANDEN EYNDE Mats | Belgium | 0:20 |
| 7 | BAŽANT Kryštof | Czech Republic | ,, |
| 8 | CORSUS Yordi | Belgium | 0:22 |
| 9 | VAN DEN BOER Arthur | Belgium | 0:45 |
| 10 | HAVERDINGS Floris | Netherlands | 0:57 |
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- again, nothing is going to be resolved. it is a discussion board. I simply said I didn't see how MS impeded LBs sprint. the UCI doesn't care about my thoughts, and I am really not that emotionally invested in it.mij09-11-2026
- provoke change, lol. this is a discussion board. nothing is going to change by what I say here. just commenting that it didn't look like MS impeded Brand. beyond that not trying to go too deep.mij09-11-2026
- as excellent as maga rednecks chloe dygert (and quinn simmons)?Ketterechts09-11-2026
- so what i understand is: i left a comment calling out the endless author CVs for being an unnecessary flex of expertise, and you responded by lecturing me (and others) on discrimination and value systems. hats off to you. you definitely lost me!Ketterechts09-11-2026
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- ANATOMY OF A G.O.A.T. EDDY MERCKX about TADEJ POGAČAR: Merckx: “He has revived a style of cycling that we had almost forgotten. He is now better than me.” Key statements by Merckx about Pogačar in 2026: - Acknowledging his superiority: This time, Merckx openly admitted, without any subsequent backtracking or reservations, that Pogačar had surpassed him and was now above him. This contrasts with 2024, when he quickly softened his remarks about Pogačar being faster. - The possibility of a historic triple (Giro, Tour and Vuelta): During the July Tour de France (where Pogi claimed his fifth title), Merckx stated that Pogi was the only cyclist in history capable of winning all three Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España) in a single season, provided the conditions were right and he had sufficient team support. - Lack of serious competition: Merckx emphasised that Pogačar has no real rivals in the mountains since 2024, thanks to his extraordinary climbing ability and the fact that he continues to improve despite still being under 28 (he turned 28 in autumn 2026). - Praise for his racing style: Merckx highlighted how Pogačar is bringing back the aggressive, uncompromising spirit of cycling's golden era, when races were not merely about calculated stages and tactical conservatism, but about attacking from long distances. PS: This is not "boring" ... this is called making real history, not only statistical history. Capish?PogiSloFans09-11-2026
- It’s off-season mate, I’m bored and fed up with the mediocrity of people unwilling to provoke change when they admit things aren’t right. What have you done lately to make anyone realise you won’t put up with things? What conversation, are you dictating to me which part of the incident I have to be interested in or telling me other parts are taboo? That’s what I guess the UCI would really like, let them moan, let it blow over for them pass on to the next thing, let’s keep the status quo, let’s try our best not reviewing or revealing anything about decision-making just like every time before, they’re used to it by now so we can take the risk they’ll never give us grief.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- As far as CUTD headlines go this is far from the worst. It helps if you look at it twice and realise it’s a list of descriptions from distinct events. You can’t deny the reality of being a rival if you consider the picture immediately below, frontrunner is unfortunate but I’m guessing this time it’s more a linguistic failure than a clickbaiting opportunity. Just a reminder that this is not an anglo website, for those who find it too tedious to interpret text to get the gist of things which are rarely of great importance (as opposed to eg purposely biaised DOJ extradition translations in order to achieve hidden agendas), there are plenty of anglo cycling websites google can suggest.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- Ah, finally someone willing to be a bit proactive.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- So? Do you understand the way instructions, decisions and authority work? Do you think in a football match if after a match (or even after play has gone on) a player tells the referee he did touch the ball with his hands when the referee didn’t award opponents a penalty that they will revise the score or force a replay? You really don’t get my point, it’s not against the rider but everyone here is so emotional for her they can’t get back to an issue which needs resolving for the future and the first step (or maybe second) is to try to understand how and why it happens, none of you have contributed in the least to that. All everyone is interested in is letting everyone know they agree how unjust it was, not even sure anyone thinks that could affect anything.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
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