World Champions Italy defeated by a powerhouse French team at the European Championships Mixed Relay

The time trials are coming up at the European Cycling Championships, but before that excitement, it was time for the Mixed Relay. And this wasn’t just any lap: the team event was held on the same course as the road race. That meant two laps of 22 kilometers each, including the grueling climb to Mozjanca.

Only six countries were set to compete. Slovenia was the first to race, but their time was quickly beaten. Luxembourg was significantly faster at the first checkpoint. Poland, in turn, was faster than the Luxembourgers, but the top contenders—France and world champion Italy —had yet to start. And they finished a full fifty seconds under the previous time.

The downside, however, was that they had already lost Thibault Guernalec on the first climb. But Bruno Armirail and Rémi Cavagna had plenty of stamina left to finish the race. Moreover, Italy didn’t field its strongest lineup at the start. At the first intermediate point, the gap was 26 seconds, though they did manage to chip away at it a bit.

At the relay point, France had a 24-second lead. The gap to third-place Luxembourg was enormous, but the battle for bronze was still exciting. In the women’s race, however, the standings had become even clearer: France pulled away quickly and, at the top of the climb, already had a one-minute lead over the Italians, who were struggling without Filippo Ganna but with Elisa Longo Borghini.

At the finish line, the gap was even wider: the French claimed the European title by a commanding margin. Italy finished second, a full street length ahead of third place. The bronze went to Luxembourg, which rode a rock-solid second leg in the women’s race and defeated the Polish team (which was overtaken by the French, who started four minutes later).