Tim Merlier today won the title of Road European Champion in the Men’s Elite category in Hasselt (Belgium). The Belgian rider won a bunch sprint ahead of Olaf Kooij (Netherlands) and Madis Mihkels (Estonia).
The first action of the day was that of a small group of five riders for over a hundred kilometers with Ivo Oliveira (Portugal), Mathis Le Berre (France), Nils Brun (Switzerland), Jonas Rutsch (Germany) and Felix Ritzinger (Austria). The peloton, mainly controlled by the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium, never gave the attackers much of a lead (around 1’30‘’ maximum).
The second half of the race was characterized by numerous attacks, all unsuccessful, and in the final kilometers of the race it was the Italian and Belgian national teams who controlled the peloton.
World Champion Mathieu van der Poel was the most active in trying to create a selection, attacking several times until the final sprint which saw Merlier triumph
Running over a 222.9km course which featured some cobblestone stretches and small climbs, Sunday’s race around Limburg was one of the fastest in history at the European Championships, the winner clocking a 48.25km/h average speed. A wave of attacks that came right from the start tried to put pressure on the peloton and prevent the day from coming down to a bunch sprint, forcing the fast men’s teams to work hard in order to control the gap.
The race came back together, but only for a short moment, as more riders decided to attack and split the peloton, going all-in instead of waiting for a sprint finish. Behind, Belgium, Germany and Italy joined hands and drove the chase, overhauling this group with 30 kilometers to go.
On the last lap, Kasper Asgreen tried his chance and remained at the front until the closing six kilometers, but he too was caught by the chasers, who were led by Italy under the flamme rouge.
Bert Van Lerberghe did a stellar job for Merlier, keeping his calm as things became hectic and navigating through the packed bunch with the latter glued to his wheel. It looked as if it was all over for Merlier, who faced a small chain problem with just 300 meters remaining, but the 31-year-old somehow managed to overcome this problem and launched a ferocious sprint on the outside, surging past all the other riders on his way to a historic triumph.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
