After Giulio Ciccone took to Instagram to question the photo finish, which saw him lose out on the European title to Remco Evenepoel, demanding to see "the photo finish that corresponds exactly to the actual finish line," the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC) has held firm in its response, defending the accuracy of the technology used.
The Italian pleaded to see more proof that he had fallen just millimetres short of the victory on Sunday, having led out the two-up sprint in Slovenia and only been caught on the line by Evenepoel's last-ditch bike throw. His disappointment in Šenčur turned to bewilderment 24 hours later, and he said that "in the filming where the finish line is visible, I keep seeing a dynamic that I cannot reconcile with that verdict."
In the two photo finishes that were released by the organisers, questions were raised due to the distortion of Ciccone's bike size, and the minuscule gap which had Evenepoel pipping him to the line. In information provided to TuttoBici, EvoData, the company that did the timing for the Europeans, explained that the time difference was just 0.0002 seconds (0.2 milliseconds), an estimated gap of 2.8 to 3.3 millimetres when translated onto the road.
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The UEC explained how the finish line technology works in a press release, stressing that neither a normal camera is used nor a normal photograph is produced at the line, and detailed why the visible distortions have no effect on the accuracy of the result given.
"The Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC) states that the photo-finish system used at the 2026 UEC Road European Championships (EtherLynx Vision PRO X) records the finish line thousands of times per second (13,000 in the specific case of the European Championship races), making it possible to determine the order of arrival with extreme precision, even in the event of minimal differences," read the press release.
"It is important to clarify that the photo-finish is not a traditional photograph. The final image is composed of the chronological sequence of recordings taken at the finish line. For this reason, the horizontal axis represents time and not distance.
"This can create apparent distortions of wheels, bicycles and riders, without affecting the accuracy of the result in any way."
Several social media users have tried to buy into Ciccone's theory by examining traditional photos of the finish line, but the gap from the line on the road and the part of the rider's front wheel which crosses the line first is too far apart to accurately determine who arrived first.
Again defending their thorough process, which positions photo finish cameras at either side of the line to verify their accuracy, the UEC looked to move on from the controversy as the Championships continue in Slovenia this week with the time trials.
"In cycling, the decisive reference point is the foremost part (tangent) of the front wheel at the exact moment it crosses the finish line," read the statement.
"At the European Championships, two independent photo-finish systems are used, which provide two separate images for verification of the result.
"The UEC will not issue any further statements on this matter."
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