European Championship organising answers Giulio Ciccone's photo finish complaint: 'In the case of minimal differences'

To the naked eye, there was barely any difference between Evenepoel and Ciccone. The Italian clearly felt hard done by on Monday, as he issued a detailed statement on social media.

"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 clips where the finish line is visible, I keep seeing a dynamic that I can't reconcile with that result," said Ciccone.

"This morning (Monday, ed.), the stewards, along 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. Because if a European title is decided by 2.8 thousandths of a second, I think it’s reasonable to ask that the crossing of the line be shown with the same precision with which the result was determined.”

"I'm not asking for a television 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 result, there’s nothing more to add. But until I’m shown that confirmation, it remains a question for me that I haven’t yet received an answer to,” Ciccone finished.

"The UEC states that the photo-finish system used at the 2026 UEC European Road Cycling Championships (EtherLynx Vision PRO X) captures the finish line thousands of times per second (13,000 times in this specific case), making it possible to determine the order of finish with extreme precision, even in the case of minimal differences."

It is important to clarify that a photo finish is not a traditional photograph. The final image is composed of a chronological sequence of shots taken at the finish line. For this reason, the horizontal axis represents time, not distance.

This can cause apparent distortions in the wheels, bicycles, and riders, without in any way compromising the accuracy of the result.

In cycling, the decisive reference point is the leading edge (tangent) of the front wheel at the exact moment it crosses the finish line.

"During the European Championships, two independent photo-finish systems will be used, which will provide two separate images to verify the result. The UEC will not issue any further statements on this matter."