Tadej Pogacar winner after a new solo issue, Paul Seixas in bronze

Eight days after his second coronation in the world, Slovenian became European champion for the first time, Sunday, in France.

World Championships, European Championships: same fight, for Tadej Pogacar. Perhaps we should think about a championship of another galaxy to see the Slovenian truly worried this season. Because, on the roads of Drôme-Ardèche, the defending world champion and quadruple winner of the Tour de France once again disgusted competition, Sunday October 5, to offer his first European title, ahead of Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas. All without trembling, after yet another solo number of 76 kilometers.

As often, Tadej Pogacar has indeed distorted company to other favorites on progressive attack during the third and last passage of the Côte de Saint-Romain-de-Lerps (7.1 km at 7% on average), one of the peace judges of these European championships promised to climbers, with 3,306 meters of elevation to swallow over 202.5 kilometers. What quickly take around thirty seconds on Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas, then joined by the Spaniard Juan Ayuso and the Italian Christian Scaroni, to lead the pursuit. In vain. Remco Evenepoel then distorted company to others, to try to return alone, without more success.

Titled on time trial on Wednesday, Remco Evenepoel never seemed in positon to return to the Slovenian, elusive, and therefore was satisfied with money. The fate of these European championships being already fixed is the fight for bronze that animated the end of the race, with three men for a place: Juan Ayuso, Christian Scaroni and Paul Seixas. At 19 and 11 days old, it was the French nugget that pulled out of the game, first making the Spaniard, nevertheless experienced runner of this trio.

The recent winner of the Tour of the future then made the show in the last ascent of the aptly named Côte du Val d'Enfer, carrying several attacks. It was ultimately on the fourth that Christian Scaroni ended up cracking, letting the French spin alone towards a bronze medal full of promises. Paul Seixas' immense smile on the line testified to his happiness, he who celebrated with the three -color public this third place as if he had won the race. What also reward the collective work of the Blues, great animators of these European championships with the Belgians, but who, like their neighbors of the flat country, could not face the Slovenian extraterrestrial.

“I knew that I was able to have a good lead, I had formidable opponents who stopped hunting behind. I had to continue the effort for a long time. We knew that this race would be very hard, we started to lose teammates, we saw that it was riding very hard. There were several Belgians around, collectively it was difficult, so I tried. And it worked.”analyzed Tadej Pogacar, after the most spectacular European championships in history, since their introduction in 2016. A new, but ephemeral light, since the jersey of European champion will neither be hidden by Tadej Pogacar, titled on the online race, nor by Remco Evenepoel, crowned on the counter-lathe on Wednesday, next season. And for good reason: the two European champions are already world champions.