Affini surprises Küng (with open front wheel) for European time trial title, strong Hoole and Arensman narrowly miss out

This year's course was 31.2 kilometers long, 2.5 kilometers longer than a year earlier. The beginning of the trial was still somewhat technical, as the course was winding in the first kilometers. Nevertheless, the road soon became a playing field for the serious contenders: long and flat straights. In Hasselt was the finish line, where we would crown the eventual winner as European champion. That honor went to Lotte Kopecky in the women, but who would win in the men?

The real-time trial specialists were absent at both the men's and women's events. Due to various circumstances, we did not see Remco Evenepoel, Filippo Ganna, Joshua Tarling, or Wout van Aert this year in the men's event. In contrast, Marlen Reusser, Anna Henderson, and Demi Vollering were absent at the women's event. And so it was watching the remaining favorites. In the men, those came mainly from Switzerland, in the names of Stefan Küng and Stefan Bissegger.

At 4:39 pm, the first man rolled off the podium, and Thymen Arensman got an early start on behalf of the Netherlands. The INEOS Grenadiers rider - who dropped out early in the Vuelta a España due to illness - was clearly in the mood. At the first and second intermediate points, he was the fastest and thus also had the best provisional finishing time. He was allowed to sit on the hot seat as the strongest men on paper departed. For example, Victor Campenaerts could not beat Arensman's time, but top favorite Küng and Dutchman Daan Hoole were faster at intermediate point one.

After Bissegger was the last to pass - with a sixth intermediate time - the focus was on the second intermediate point after nineteen kilometers. There, Küng and Hoole were still faster than Arensman, but Affini of Visma | Lease a Bike was the fastest. His compatriot Mattia Cattaneo from Italy also came in for the medals with a third intermediate time. In doing so, Affini and Küng competed at almost the same time, while the gap to Cattaneo, Hoole, and Arensman was already between 15 and even 22.

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The technical part was over after the second intermediate point; from here on, it was pounding on the big bike for another 12 kilometers. Affini had not stopped. The Italian raced to a time of 35 minutes and 15 seconds, at an average of 53.2 kilometers per hour! Arensman was thus pushed to a provisional second finishing time of 54 seconds. That's where Hoole cheekily intervened, with a finishing time 27 seconds slower than Affini. Could Hoole hope for a medal? With Küng on the road, Arensman no longer seemed to have that hope.

The Swiss rider, who had won another time trial by supremacy on the final day of the Vuelta a España, surprisingly bit the fastest time. Affini was no less than nine seconds faster than Küng, who was thus provisionally second. Cattaneo completed the Italian party by finishing in third place. That left Hoole and Arensman in places four and five, the most ungrateful positions...