Ciccone casts doubt on European Championship photo finish with Remco Evenepoel: 'I'm asking for something very simple'

Ciccone looked set to win the European Championship on Sunday, but saw Evenepoel pull even with him in the final meters. A photo finish ultimately declared Evenepoel the winner.

“I saw the first one, and it wasn’t really clear. And then I saw the second one, and that one was clear,” Ciccone said immediately after the race.

On Monday, Ciccone issued a public statement with a different tone. “It’s hard to put my emotions in order after yesterday’s race. But I want to start with something that is indisputable to me: Remco was the strongest rider yesterday."

"He raced like a champion, he knew how to interpret and manage a complex race, and he delivered an extraordinary performance.”

"We, as Italy, tried everything to challenge him. My respect for him is immense and has never been in doubt," Ciccone wants to make clear.

Even in the final, I raced based on the tactical situation. Scaroni, my teammate on the national team, was hot on my heels, about 30 seconds behind me—at least according to the information I was getting from the scoreboards.”

"It was a tactical decision, in line with my role," said Ciccone, before changing the subject. "And then came the photo finish. The title was awarded by a margin of 0.0028 seconds, or 2.8 thousandths."

"I’ve watched the available footage hundreds of times, and in the shots where the finish line is visible, I keep seeing a dynamic that I can’t reconcile with that result.”

"This morning [Monday], the stewards, together with the federal technicians, explained to me how the photo finish works and what criteria are used to interpret it," he explains.

“So I’m not asking for another explanation. I’m asking to see the photo finish, which corresponds exactly to the actual finish line.”

"I want to see, without a doubt, our bikes crossing the exact point where, according to the rules, the finish line has been established," said Ciccone. “Because if a European title is decided by 2.8 thousandths of a second, I think it’s reasonable to ask that the moment we cross the line be shown with the same precision used to determine the result.”

"I'm not asking for a TV broadcast to replace the photo finish, and I'm not questioning Remco's achievements or the extraordinary race he drove," Ciccone reiterates.

"I'm asking for something very simple: to see the photo finish at the actual finish line. If those images confirm the results, there's nothing more to say. But until I'm shown that confirmation, it remains a question for which I haven't yet received an answer," he concludes.