'I've looked at the images hundreds of times' – Giulio Ciccone pleads for transparency as he questions controversial photo finish loss to Evenepoel at European Championships

After missing out on the European title by the narrowest of margins, just 0.0028 seconds, Giulio Ciccone (Italy) has pleaded for clarity when it comes to the photo finish that confirmed Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) as the champion from a tight two-up sprint in Slovenia.

Taking to Instagram almost 24 hours after the elite men's road race, the now controversial photo finish was still on Ciccone's mind, after the images showed what looked close to a dead heat, with Evenepoel only snatching the win by a matter of millimetres.

He never questioned that Evenepoel was the strongest rider in the race, but Ciccone struggled to accept the photo finish result without further proof, insisting that he just wanted to "see the photo finish on the real finish line."

"It's hard to control my emotions after yesterday's race. But I want to start from something that is out of the question for me," wrote Ciccone on Monday. "Remco was the strongest rider yesterday. He rode like a champion, he could interpret and manage a complex race and offered an extraordinary performance.

"Then there's the photo finish. The title was awarded with a difference of 0.0028 seconds, i.e. 2.8 thousandths. I've looked at the available images hundreds of times and, in the filming where the finish line is visible, I keep seeing a dynamic that I cannot reconcile with that verdict.

"This morning the commissioners, together with the federal technicians, explained to me how it works and the criteria with which the photo finish was interpreted. So I'm not asking for another explanation.

"I am asking to see the photo finish that corresponds exactly to the actual finish line. I would like to be able to see, unmistakably, the passing of our two wheels at the exact point where, according to the regulations, arrival is determined. Because if a European title is decided by 2.8 thousandths of a second, I think it’s legitimate to ask that that very passage can be shown with the same precision with which the result was determined.

"I'm not asking that a television shot will replace [the] photo finish. I'm not questioning the value of Remco nor the amazing race he ran. I am asking a very simple question: see the photo finish on the real finish line. If that picture confirms the verdict, there is nothing else to add. But until that correspondence is shown to me, for me it remains a question to which I have not yet received an answer."

Ciccone was able to hang onto Evenepoel's accelerations on the final lap, and after mostly sitting on his wheel in the final run to the line, opened up his sprint early around the final corner. He looked as though he had it won, getting the jump on the Belgian, but Evenepoel came back with enough speed to catch him on the line with an elite bike throw.

After a long wait, Evenepoel was announced as the winner, leaving Ciccone banging his handlebars before the frustration turned to disappointment, and he was left hunched over a barrier with his agent, Alex Carera, there to console him.

In cycling, photo finishes are not taken by a regular camera, meaning that questions were raised as soon as the images appeared on screen, with Ciccone's bike appearing smaller than reality in the picture, and Evenepoel's longer.

What's actually happening is that a single vertical strip at the finish line is continuously being scanned every millisecond, resulting in the photo finish, and the X axis being a representation of time – in this case 0.0028 seconds – not of distance.

This is what causes the distortion of both riders and their bikes, as explained by Belgian broadcaster Sporza: "The end result looks like a two-dimensional image of a single moment, but in reality, they are photos of lines placed one after another." Italian publication TuttoBici further explained the process, with 15,000 images being produced of the strip in the last second, with Evenepoel arriving first by three millimetres.

Similar photo finish controversy is not unusual in cycling, with Wout van Aert's victory ahead of Tom Pidcock at the Amstel Gold Race in 2021 also raising the same questions. On that occasion, it was just six millimetres in favour of the Belgian that landed him the victory.

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