European Cycling Championships 2024: Merlier triumphs in a bunch sprint
In the end, it was a classic sprinter who was able to celebrate the European title: After 223 kilometres through the province of Limburg, Tim Merlier from Belgium had the fastest legs in the bunch sprint. However, the Belgian was not in the best position to launch his attack in the final metres. He had to ride a wide arc on the right around the sprinters' competition around Jonathan Milan (Italy) and co. However, because he was clearly faster than the other sprinters, he literally flew past them and took the European Championship victory ahead of the charging Olav Kooij (Netherlands). Third place went to Estonia's Madis Mihkels, who finished just ahead of top sprinter Jasper Philipsen (Belgium).
Germany without a chance
The German team's plan for the 2024 European Cycling Championships road race was clear: Jonas Rutsch was to be a breakaway rider and have a say in the battle for a top place. The 26-year-old was not only in the leading group at the start of the race, but was also at the front when the classics riders around Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) and Mads Pedersen (Denmark) pulled away. When the breakaway group was caught 25 kilometres from the finish, a bunch sprint was in the offing. Max Walscheid went all out for Germany and finished twelfth.
European Cycling Championships 2024 - Results: the top 10 of the men's road race
- Tim Merlier (Belgium)
- Olav Kooij (Netherlands)
- Madis Mihkels (Estonia)
- Jasper Philipsen (Belgium)
- Alexander Kristoff (Norway)
- Mads Pedersen (Denmark)
- Pavel Bittner (Czech Republic)
- Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Poland)
- Christophe Laporte (France)
- Alex Kirsch (Luxembourg)
How the 2024 European Cycling Championships road race went
The 223-kilometre route between Heusden-Zolder and Hasselt was fast from the start. After just a few kilometres, five riders managed to open up a gap to the peloton. Jonas Rutsch (Germany), Mathis Le Berre (France), Nils Brun (Switzerland), Felix Ritzinger (Austria) and Ivo Oliveira (Portugal) formed a breakaway group that led the way for a long time. First several riders around Arthur Kluckers (Luxembourg) and Mads Würtz Schmidt (Denmark) caught up with the leaders, but 96 kilometres before the finish the breakaway was caught by the peloton.
Van der Poel's first attack
As a result, German riders also appeared at the front of the peloton: Nils Politt and Max Walscheid were involved in the pace work. Not only Mads Pedersen (Denmark) but also Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) were also highly motivated with several increases in speed. The Dutchman managed to break away with Matteo Trentin (Italy) and Mikkel Berg (Denmark) with 85 kilometres to go.
Several teams immediately sounded the alarm bells, as van der Poel, one of the top favourites to win the day, was now at the front of the race. This caused the peloton to split up. A smaller group caught up with the three riders in the lead, while the larger group further back took a long time and a lot of energy to catch up with the leaders. With 62 kilometres to go, the time had come.
Rutsch slips into a breakaway group again
Seven kilometres later, a group of six riders formed up and attacked, breaking away from the peloton: They included the busy Mathieu van der Poel, Danny van Poppel (both Netherlands), Christophe Laporte (France), Mads Pedersen (Denmark), Arthur Kluckers (Luxembourg) and again Jonas Rutsch (Germany). Italy and Belgium in particular were keen to ensure that the gap did not widen too far - they wanted to make it a sprint. The two teams succeeded in this endeavour: the breakaway barely had a lead of more than 20 seconds - and 25 kilometres before the finish, the six-man lead group was caught.
Mass sprint on the horizon
The Danish team was particularly unhappy with the impending bunch sprint. First Sören Kragh Andersen tried to break away from the peloton, then it was Kasper Asgreen. Both attacks were unsuccessful. It was clear that the race would end in a bunch sprint. Tim Merlier was the fastest rider there and was crowned European champion.
