Cycling-Ciccone wants clarity over photo-finish verdict at Euro championships

Italian cyclist Giulio Ciccone has challenged ​the photo-finish verdict that saw ​him lose the European ‌Championships road ​race to Remco Evenepoel in Slovenia on Sunday. Ciccone overtook Evenepoel with just a few hundred metres ‌remaining and looked set for victory before he was reeled in by the Belgian, with the pair wheel-to-wheel as they crossed the finish line.

"The title was ‌decided by a margin of 0.0028 seconds, which is 2.8 thousandths ‌of a second," Ciccone wrote on social media on Monday. "I've watched the available footage hundreds of times and, in the shots where the finish line is visible, I keep ⁠seeing ​something I can't ⁠square with that verdict."

The European Cycling Union, which organises the European Road Cycling Championships, did ⁠not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours in Switzerland. Ciccone, ​31, said the criteria used to interpret photo finishes had already ⁠been explained to him by officials and his federation's technical staff.

"I'm not asking for another ⁠explanation," ​he added. "I'm asking to see the photo finish that matches the actual finish line exactly. I'd like to see, clearly and beyond ⁠doubt, our two wheels crossing at the exact point where the regulations say ⁠the finish is ⁠determined."

Lidl-Trek rider Ciccone also said Evenepoel had raced "like a champion". "My respect for him is enormous and has never been ‌in ‌question."