Road European Championships: Jarno Widar wins under-23 men’s road race title

Widar’s win came via a last-lap attack, with the Belgian jumping from behind after Liam O’Brien (Ireland) had led the race onto the last lap. He’d leave behind a host of top contenders, including under-23 world champion Lorenzo Finn (Italy).

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Senna Remijn (Netherlands) and Matteo Vanhuffel (Belgium) were chasing behind O’Brien at 17km to go, but it was Widar who had the most left to give on the road to the finish. He attacked on the race’s final hill at Val d’Enfer (1.6km at 9.8%) to go clear at the front before soloing to the finish.

Decomble had taken off in pursuit, but he couldn’t close the gap to Widar and would have to settle for the silver medal.

Further back, a group of seven would come home together in the battle for bronze. At the line, it was Alvarez who proved the quickest finisher. He beat Simone Gualdi (Italy) and Remijn to fill the final spot on the podium.