Oct 6 (Reuters) – Italian cyclist Giulio Ciccone has challenged the photo-finish verdict that saw him lose the European Championships road race to Remco Evenepoel in Slovenia on Sunday.
Ciccone overtook Evenepoel with just a few hundred metres remaining and looked set for victory before he was reeled in by the Belgian, with the pair wheel-to-wheel as they crossed the finish line.
“The title was decided by a margin of 0.0028 seconds, which is 2.8 thousandths of a second,” Ciccone wrote on social media on Monday.
“I’ve watched the available footage hundreds of times and, in the shots where the finish line is visible, I keep seeing something I can’t square with that verdict.”
The European Cycling Union, which organises the European Road Cycling Championships, did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours in Switzerland.
Ciccone, 31, said the criteria used to interpret photo finishes had already been explained to him by officials and his federation’s technical staff.
“I’m not asking for another explanation,” he added.
“I’m asking to see the photo finish that matches the actual finish line exactly. I’d like to see, clearly and beyond doubt, our two wheels crossing at the exact point where the regulations say the finish is determined.”
Lidl-Trek rider Ciccone also said Evenepoel had raced “like a champion”.
“My respect for him is enormous and has never been in question.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)