Henrik Pedersen is the new European Under-23 cycling champion. The 18-year-old Danish cyclist emerged as the best in an early breakaway in a race that covered more than 136 kilometers with five laps around the VAM mountain. He won a duel against Ivan Romeo (Spain) at the finish line, while Paul Magnier (France) secured the bronze medal.
After the start in Hoogeveen and 65 kilometers into the race, the main breakaway entered the 13.7-kilometer circuit around the VAM mountain, which featured a new climb: Het Dak van Drenthe, with 820 meters at an average gradient of 6.8%. The cyclists completed five laps around the mountain.
The trio of leaders separated early in the race. Ivan Romeo (Spain), Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Poland), and Henrik Pedersen (Denmark) entered the circuit around the VAM mountain with a 3 minutes and 45 seconds advantage. The peloton was led by the Netherlands, Italy, and Switzerland.
In the final lap, it became a direct duel between the stage winner of the 2023 Tour de l’Avenir (Romeo) and the Danish junior champion of 2022. However, Pedersen made an attack on the final climb, distancing himself from Romeo, who had to settle for second place, more than 25 seconds behind Pedersen.
The peloton closed in on the leaders in the final lap but couldn’t catch them. In the end, 19-year-old French rider Paul Magnier secured the bronze by winning the reduced peloton sprint, 37 seconds behind Pedersen. Portuguese rider António Morgado, who will be a teammate of João Almeida at UAE Team Emirates in 2024, finished the race with the main peloton, in 14th place, 42 seconds behind the winner.
Unfortunately, I cannot provide video or visual content as a text-based AI, so I can’t show you the finish. You may be able to find video footage of the race finish on cycling-related websites or platforms.
Results of the European Under-23 Championship:
