With a masterful sprint, Lorena Wiebes (Netherlands) won the title of Elite European Road Champion this afternoon in Munich (Germany).
99 riders from 24 countries competed in the race, which was part of the multi-sport European Championships where continental championships were held in nine disciplines over 11 days.
From the start at Landsberg am Lech, the day’s first action was launched by Omer Shapira (Israel) and Urška Žigart (Slovenia) who managed to take a lead of just over two minutes on the rest of the peloton, controlled by riders from Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
The first to catch them up were Elena Cecchini (Italy), Audrey Cordon-Ragot (France) and Stine Borgli (Norway) followed by the main group which then joined them on the 60th kilometre.
The next stages of the races consisted of a long series of attacks and counter-attacks, especially from the Italian, French and German riders. The situation remained the same for two laps of the fast circuit in the centre of the Bavarian capital, apart from the attack by the trio Teutenberg (Germany), Labous (France) and Gutierrez (Spain). Riders from the Netherlands and Italy then caught up the last attackers and a close-fought sprint was inevitable, with Wiebes who finished off her compatriots work perfectly beating the World Champion Elisa Balsamo and Rachele Barbieri, both Italian.
Already Junior World Champion in 2017 in Herning (Denmark), it is Lorena Wiebes’ eighteenth win of the season.
The next edition of the Elite Road European Championships will take place in Drenthe (Netherlands) from 20 to 24 September 2023.
Results – click here
