France claimed both European U23 titles this weekend, as women take dominant podium sweep

The Italians and Belgians certainly had their stars—Stefano Viezzi, Yordi Corsus, and Giel Lejeune—but most eyes were on the French prodigy Aubin Sparfel. He took the lead early on at the European Championships in the Netherlands, with a Belgian group on his wheel. But no significant gaps had opened up yet: a group of about eight riders had managed to create a small gap.

Among them were Sparfel and Lejeune, as well as Viezzi and his compatriot Filippo Grigolini. Notably absent: Corsus, who finished second in Dendermonde behind Michael Vanthourenhout, was not there. But the Frenchman, who won the Koppenbergcross in the U23 category by a wide margin, began to pull away decisively. Viezzi fell behind, and only Grigolini, Lejeune, and his compatriot Viktor Vandenberghe were able to keep up.

Sparfel was definitely not afraid to take the bull by the horns, but the other three riders wouldn’t give him an inch. Behind them, the gaps kept widening, so it looked like a Frenchman, an Italian, and two Belgians were battling it out for the European title. And in the final lap, the pace slowed down a bit, allowing Viezzi to catch sight of the lead group again.

But he didn’t make it up. It was a thrilling final lap, but no one could pull ahead. The long final stretch of asphalt leading to the finish line beckoned, and there the Belgians were unable to capitalize on their numerical advantage. The speedy Sparfel outpaced them and won the European title: Lejeune finished second, ahead of Vandenberghe.

France had two top contenders in Célia Gery and Amandine Muller, but Italy’s Georgia Pellizotti and the Czech Republic’s Barbora Buskova were also contenders. It was the French women who took the lead right from the start, with Gery and Lison Desprez. Langenbarg and Cabaca kept up well, but no real gaps were created in the first lap.

In the second lap, however, the French duo really took off. Desprez and Gery pulled ahead—and how. Cabaca was the only one who managed to stay somewhat close, but a group consisting of Langenbarg, Pelizzoti, and Muller was already trailing by 25 seconds. And slowly but surely, the gaps only grew wider. Cabaca also lost ground.

The gap between the best and the rest was truly enormous. Cabaca fought as hard as she could, but was caught by the second group. At that point, they were already forty seconds behind... The battle for the bronze medal turned out to be a nail-biter, with Cabaca and Langenbarg fighting for a medal. But Muller and Buskova put them under pressure.

But Muller could have stayed on their wheel the whole time. When it became clear that the two in front had pulled away, she made her move. She left the exhausted Cabaca and Langenbarg behind. Gery and Desprez were then left to battle it out, and the former proved to be the strongest in the final lap. She took the gold, ahead of her compatriots Desprez and Muller. An all-French podium! Langenbarg finished sixth, Cabaca seventh.

1. Aubin Sparfel
2. Giel Lejeune "
3. Viktor Vandenberghe "
4. Filippo Grigolini "
Stefano Viezzi + 5

1. Célia Gery
2. Lison Desprez + 0.09
3. Amandine Muller + 1.12
4. Barbora Buskova + 1.20
5. Giorgia Pellizotti + 1.39