Sofie van Rooijen sprints to European title

In the misty morning air, the shot signalling the start of the U23 Women's European Championship race rang out at the Heusden-Zolder velodrome. On Koning Boudewijnlaan in Hasselt, it was Sofie van Rooijen who sprinted to the European title. Silver went to her compatriot Scarlett Souren and Italy's Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini took the bronze.

At 9:00, the women set off on a 101.4km race through the streets of Limburg. After a cautious start, it was the Dane Mikka Holm and the Czech Nela Slanikova who initiated the first surge in the pace. At 95 kilometres from the finish, the duo began to open a gap and rapidly built up a lead of more than 3 minutes.

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In the pursuing peloton, the chase to catch the leading duo began in earnest after 40 kilometres of racing. Driven by Belgium's Febe Jooris, the tempo picked up considerably. Holm and Slanikova continued to work hard in front but their lead quickly started to shrink. Not long later, the leading pair was halved when Holm suffered a mechanical. Slanikova had to continue her journey alone. Holm tried to join her again, but getting back to the front of the race proved impossible.

At 32km from the finish, a new attack was launched by the Belgian camp. Fleur Moors made a strong move, but was unable to break away. The Czech leader gradually lost more and more ground and was finally caught 22 km from the finishing line. A full peloton moved into the final local lap.

10 km from the finish, the peloton was disrupted by a crash in which Finnish favourite Anniina Ahtosalo was one of the sufferers. In the final straight to the finishing line in Hasselt, the peloton readied itself for the sprint. With 200 metres to go, Scarlett Souren from the Netherlands hit the front, leading out her compatriot Sofie van Rooijen. Van Rooijen made the most of this perfect lead-out and sprinted powerfully to the European title in the U23 Women’s event. Souren and Italy's Gasparrini completed the podium.