The men’s elite road race discipline of the 2025 European Continental Championships was contested on a 202.5-kilometer route in hilly and mountainous terrain from Privas to Guilherand-Granges on the Western bank of the Rhone River.

The 2025 European Continental Championships were contested in the Rhone-Ardeche region of Southern France. Defending European Continental Champion Tim Merlier had chosen not to attempt to defend his title in today’s race as the route was too mountainous for the Belgian sprinter.

The start list of the race featured only 99 riders, but it included Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia), Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark), and Remco Evenepoel of Belgium and it would be the first time in a long while the three riders all three riders would contest the same one-day race. The Danish, Slovenian, French and Belgian teams were the strongest on paper, but Portugal’s included Joao Almeida, and other outsiders included the Italian and Spanish teams. Prominent riders Julian Alaphilippe (France) and Mads Pedersen (Denmark) were both absent due to illness.

The men’s elite European Continental Championships started in the picturesque Privas village, which is situated in a valley in the Ardeche region of France and known for its warm atmosphere, night markets, carnival, its culinary pleasures – not least candied chestnuts – and also the much-recommended wine shop Le Bouchon with its commendable host and owner.

The race got off to a fast start after the riders left Privas and crossed the nearby ravine. Strong winds dominated the start of the race, and the temperatures were around fifteen degrees Celsius. The cyclists then immediately entered the Col du Moulin a Vent climb (4 km at 5.1 percent). Multiple riders used the climb to launch breakaway attempts and the race situation got reshuffled in the following kilometers.

After thirty kilometers of fast racing and with approximately 170 kilometers remaining, Czech rider Mathias Vacek had formed a front trio with Daan Hoole and Mathijs Paasschens of the Netherlands. A five-man chase group was forty seconds behind and included Nils Brun (Switzerland), Danny van der Tuuk (Poland), Kristians Belohvosciks (Latvia), Jaakko Hanninen (Finland), and Lukas Kubis (Slovakia).

The front trio had a lead of 48 seconds, while the first chase group got reeled in by the main peloton, which was spearheaded by riders from the Slovenian national team in support of their team captain Tadej Pogacar.

Additional attacks were launched from the main peloton in the following kilometers as several teams were eager to send riders into breakaways to function as tactical foreposts or to fight for their own chances of a race win. Approximately fifteen riders formed a chase group, which featured Louis Vervaeke (Belgium) Niklas Larsen (Denmark), Casper Pedersen (Denmark) Marco Frigo (Italy), and Nicolas Prodhomme (France). Meanwhile, riders from Turkey, Albania and Moldova abandoned the race.

150 kilometers remained and the riders were approaching Saint Romain de Lerps, which featured sections of more than ten percent. The chase group continued to close in on the front trio on the climb, and the fifteen optimists were just seventeen seconds behind the frontmen with 142 kilometers left of the race. The main peloton was more than two minutes behind the front trio and was still led by Slovenian riders in their pale green jerseys.

While some riders had been dropped from the chase group, the remaining riders caught the front trio with the Cote de Saint-Romain-de-Lerps climb having taken its toll on the cyclists. Fourteen riders pressed on in front of the main peloton, which was approximately two minutes behind.

118 kilometers of the race remained, and the front group featured noteworthy riders such as Mathias Vacek (Czech Republic), Daan Hoole (the Netherlands), Nicolas Prodhomme (France), Marco Frigo (Italy), Louis Vervaeke (Belgium), Casper Pedersen (Denmark), and Niklas Larsen who won bronze in the time trial discipline of the European Championships.

The peloton passed La Tour de Crest, which is the highest keep in France and known for its breathtaking views over the Drome Valley and for its historic use as prison for opponents of Napoleon III.

Riders from Belgium launched an acceleration and increased the pace on the second passage of Cote de Saint-Romain-de-Lerps, which caused 

Jonas Vingegaard got dropped on the climb, which was a huge disappointment for fans around the world and not least to the Danish audience. Vingegaard had obviously arrived unprepared for the European Championships, which could be seen as disrespectful and a disgrace. The much-anticipated one-day battle between Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Pogacar was now cancelled. Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogacar and other race favorites pressed on and appeared stronger than ever while targeting a proud championship victory for their home nations.

Despite the accelerations in the main peloton, the reduced main peloton group was still 01:50 minutes behind the thirteen-rider front group with 107 kilometers of the race remaining.

Steff Cras attacked with 104 kilometers left and France’s Pavel Sivakov and Alex Baudin responded. Remco Evenepoel also joined the fun and once again showed great courage and initiative for Belgium. Tadej Pogacar naturally also joined the group as did Pavel Sivakov, Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark), and Spain’s Juan Ayuso.

While the thirteen-rider breakaway group remained in front with a one-minute lead, the Evenepoel-Pogacar-Ayuso-Skjelmose group got caught by chasers from the peloton.

The riders reached Cote de Val d’Enfer and while the front group had a lead of forty seconds, attacks got launched from the chasing main peloton. Evenepoel attacked with Pogacar, Paul Seixas (France), Andrea Mifsud (Malta), Mathijs Paasschens, and Victor Langellotti of Monaco.

With Evenepoel, Pogacar and other riders increasing the pace behind them, the riders in the front group attempted to keep the chasers at bay by increasing the pace, but with little success. Evenepoel, Pogacar and the other favorites caught the front group with ninety kilometers left.

Approximately fifteen riders crossed the finish line of the finishing circuit together with four laps remaining and ninety kilometers left of today’s European Continental Championships battle.

The front group, which featured Evenepoel, Pogacar, Skjelmose and approximately 25 other riders, reached Cote de Saint-Romain-de-Lerps with 77 kilometers of the race remaining. The remains of the peloton was more than a minute behind.

Tadej Pogacar attacked early on the climb and Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso both responded, but it did not take long before Ayuso had to drop Evenepoel’s rear wheel. France’s Paul Seixas attacked from the chase group while hoping to bridge the gap to the Evenepoel-Pogacar front duo.

Slovenia’s Pogacar left Evenepoel behind and the Belgian rider joined forces with Seixas. Christian Scaroni (Italy) and Juan Ayuso had formed a second chase duo further back and were hoping to bridge the gap to Evenepoel and Seixas.

While Ayuso and Scaroni joined forces with Evenepoel and Seixas, Pogacar continued to increase his time advantage in the following kilometers. Pogacar was thirty seconds ahead of the four chasers with seventy kilometers to the finish line. The 11-rider peloton group was far behind at this point in the race, though some riders were still trying to jump to the chase group.

Evenepoel, Scaroni, Seixas, and Ayuso cooperated well in the following flat kilometers and reduced Pogacar’s advantage to 23 seconds. Pogacar, however, gained time on the chasers on the steep Cote de Val d’Enfer climb (1.6 km at 9.7 percent) and was 31 seconds ahead when he exited the climb.

Evenepoel set a fast pace in the four-rider chase group in the next flat section, and this caused Scaroni to struggle to remain in contact with his fellow group members.

Pogacar was forty seconds ahead of the chase group when fifty kilometers remained. Scaroni had managed to hang onto the group, and he was still competing for the medals against Evenepoel, Seixas and Ayuso. The second chase group was now almost three minutes behind Pogacar, and the riders were not expected to regain any chance of a memorable result in the race.

Tadej – the Cannibal – Pogacar once again showed his incredible strength in the following kilometers and had increased his lead to 01:04 minutes with 44 kilometers to the final crossing of the finish line in Guilherand-Granges where the medal winners would be found.

Evenepoel tried to drop his breakaway compatriots in a flat section with 42 kilometers to go and Ayuso immediately responded. Seixas and Scaroni also closed the gap and the four riders reached Cote de Val d’Enfer together.

Evenepoel and the other three chasers reached the summit of Cote de Val d’Enfer 01:15 minutes after Pogacar.

Evenepoel launched an attack from the chase group with 38 kilometers left and managed to open a gap as Seixas, Ayuso and Scaroni were unable to keep up with the strong Belgian rider. Evenepoel was now chasing Pogacar solo. Scaroni, Ayuso and Seixas joined forces and would likely be forced to settle for a battle for the bronze medal.

The riders entered the penultimate circuit lap. 33 kilometers remained and Pogacar was 01:06 minutes ahead of Evenepoel, while Seixas, Ayuso and Scaroni were now 01:34 minutes behind the Slovenian race leader.

Approximately ten riders entered the penultimate circuit lap four minutes behind Pogacar, with no hope of securing a medal for their respective home nation. The group included Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark), Tiesj Benoot (Belgium), Louis Vervaeke (Belgium), Marco Frigo (Italy), Gianmarco Garofoli (Italy), Romain Gregoire (France), Aurelien Paret-Peintre (France), Nicolas Prodhomme (France), Pavel Sivakov (France), Felix Grossschartner (Austria), and Toms Skujins of Latvia.

The riders approached Cote de Val d’Enfer, and while Pogacar and Evenepoel were further up the road, it was expected a move would be made from the three-man chase group on the climb in pursuit of the bronze medal.

Olympian Champion Evenepoel had reduced Pogacar’s advantage to one minute with 25 kilometers to the finish line. The Seixas-Ayuso-Scaroni trio was 02:20 minutes behind the race leader.

Seixas launched an attack for France close to the summit of Cote de Val d’Enfer, but Ayuso and Scaroni closed down the attempt.

Pogacar entered the final lap solo, and the World Champion was now on his way to becoming European Continental Champion in road race, barring any crashes or mechanical issues. The race outcome almost appeared a carbon copy version of many other races we have experienced this season and no other rider appeared able to challenge the Slovenian master. Evenepoel was chasing approximately one minute behind, while Seixas, Ayuso and Scaroni were 03:26 minutes back. Further back, Skjelmose and Skujins had left the other riders behind, and the duo was chasing 04:38 minutes behind Pogacar.

Five kilometers remained and Pogacar was still solo in front, while Evenepoel was chasing one minute behind. Seixas was still chasing 03:40 minutes behind with Scaroni and Ayuso.

19-year-old Seixas bravely launched an attack on Cote de Val d’Enfer and Scaroni joined the Frenchman, while Ayuso got dropped. Seixas briefly dropped Scaroni, but the Italian fought his way back.

Seixas dropped Scaroni on a brief hill section that followed Cote de Val d’Enfer and the young Frenchman was fighting bravely for a bronze medal on home soil.

The final kilometers of the race did not bring any significant changes. Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line as winner of the European Continental Championships. The Slovenian rider proudly secured the gold medal. Remco Evenepoel finished second and took silver for Belgium. 19-year-old Paul Seixas bravely fought his way to a bronze medal for France on home soil, while Christian Scaroni finished fourth. Toms Skujins finished fifth for Latvia, while Juan Ayuso was sixth for Spain and Mattias Skjelmose did his best to defend Denmark’s pride by finishing seventh.

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