The 2023 edition of the Road European Championships opened today in Emmen, in the province of Drenthe (Netherlands), with the awarding of the six Time-Trial titles. It concludes on Sunday 24 September with the Road race for the Elite Men.
The day began with the Women’s Juniors race won by Federica Venturelli from Italy. The multiple World and European Track champion covered the 19.8 kilometres in 26'26'' at an average speed of 45 km/h, 23'' ahead of Stina Kagevi (Sweden), second with a time of 26'47'', and Hannah Kunz (Germany), third with a time of 26'56''.
No great surprises in the Men's race with a win by the Danish talent Albert Philipsen. Already winner this season of the European and World MTB Cross-Country title and the Rainbow Road jersey, Philipsen finished the 19.8km race in 22'48" (average speed 52.080 km/h), leaving Norwegian Jorgen Nordhagen, second at 46", and Belgian Sente Sentjens (49'12") behind him.
Zoe Backstedt literally dominated the Under 23 Women's race. The Briton, who won the European Cyclo-Cross title in 2021 at the Col du Vam where the Road races are being held, was 57" ahead of World Champion Antonia Niedermaier (Germany) and Finland's Anniina Ahtosalo, bronze medallist at 1'33".
In the Men’s Under 23, a secure victory was achieved by the defending champion Alec Segaert (Belgium) who remains on the first step of the podium, ahead of the Dane Carl-Frederik Bévort, second at 37'', and Gustav Wang, third at 52''.
On her 32nd birthday, Switzerland's Marlen Reusser won her third European title in the Women's Elite, after Trento 2021 and Munich 2022. The solid Swiss had no opponent and finished the course in 35'53'' (49.820 km/h average), ahead of the British rider Anna Henderson (at 43'') and Austria's Christina Schweinberger (at 44'').
The men's title went to Joshua Tarling (Great Britain). The young Briton, born in 2004 and already third at the World Championships just over a month ago, literally flew over the 29.8 km in 31'30 (average 56.760), leaving behind the outgoing European champion Stefan Bissegger (Switzerland), second at 42' ', and the Belgian Wout Van Aert who won the bronze medal at 43''.
The 2023 Road European Championships will continue tomorrow with the Mixed Team Relay events, the team event that since this year, in addition to the title for the Elite category, also includes a race for Juniors.
