Spain’s Héctor Álvarez claimed the European title in the Men’s Under-23 category. The best-placed Slovenian rider, Erazem Valjavec, finished an excellent eighth.
The Men’s Under-23 riders set off on the 141.8-kilometre course from Congress Square in Ljubljana. The race was fast and aggressive from the very beginning, with the European title ultimately decided in a demanding finale. Álvarez established a lead at a crucial point in the race and held on to it all the way to the finish in Šenčur. Poland’s Jan Jackowiak claimed the silver medal, while Belgium’s Niels Driesen took bronze.
Álvarez, who finished third at last year’s European Championships and second at this year’s World Championships, said after his victory: »I’ve been waiting for this win for two years. Everyone believed in me, and today I was able to repay that trust. The race was very demanding and, above all, incredibly fast. We knew from the start that it would be like that. Today I raced in my own way – aggressively – and it worked. If I had one piece of advice for the riders competing over the next few days, it would simply be: be brave.«
The best of the six Slovenian riders was Erazem Valjavec, who finished eighth. The 20-year-old Slovenian has therefore recorded two top-ten finishes in the Under-23 category within just eight days: he finished ninth at the World Championships in Montreal and eighth at the European Championships on home roads.
The race was officially started with the start flag by UEC President Enrico Della Casa and Mayor of the City of Ljubljana Zoran Janković. Large crowds of spectators lined the course, with particularly strong support on the Možjanca climb, where fans packed the roadside and created one of the most vibrant atmospheres of the opening day of competition.
Race results: https://www.uec.ch/en/event/281/2026-uec-road-european-championships