European Championships: Henrik Pedersen wins under-23 men's road race title
18-year-old Dane drops Iván Romeo of Spain on Col du Vam circuit
18-year-old Dane Henrik Pedersen dropped 20-year-old Movistar rider Ivan Romeo to win the UEC European Championships under-23 road race title.
The powerful Danish rider spent most of the 136.5km race on the attack with Romeo and Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Poland) but attacked alone on the final lap and climb up to the Col du Vam to win alone.
The chase group containing many of the pre-race favourites finished 38 seconds behind Pedersen, with Paul Magnier of France taking the bronze medal.
Pederen won the Danish junior road race title in 2022 and completed the Giro Next Gen in 2023, in his first season as an under-23 rider. He will ride for the Uno X Development Team in 2024 and then step-up to the Uno-X ProTeam in 2026.
Pedersen, Romeo and Gajdulewicz were allowed to open a gap of 3:45 on the 65 km loop before the five laps of the Col du Vam circuit. In the peloton a stalemate amongst the major nations emerged, stalling the chase, while the trio pushed on.
They led the peloton by 1:30 with two of the 13.7km laps to race, with Gajdulewicz dropped as the Col du Vam and cross winds began to hurt.
The chase peloton included 60 riders but they struggled to reduce the gap and the bell rang out with Pedersen and Romeo still 1:30 ahead.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Pedersen used his power on the cobbled section of the Col du Vam to crack Romeo and rode solo to the finish line atop the former rubbish landfill site that has been transformed into a cycling circuit.
The under-23 women’s road race is held later on Friday, with the elite women’s and junior men’s races on Saturday, and the junior women’s and elite men’s road races on Sunday.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling

Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Best e-bike helmets: Better protection for higher speeds
The best e-bike helmets have commuter-friendly features and are designed for higher-speed, higher-momentum protection -
Tour de France 2026 route analysis - Stages where the race can be won or lost
Two stage finishes atop Alpe d'Huez are only one piece of the 2026 puzzle -
Lotto-Intermarché saga takes another turn as team asks laid-off mechanics to stay aboard merged squad
New team will have to look elsewhere after pair of Lotto mechanics have since found employment with other teams -
Wilier Filante SLR ID2 first ride review - An aero bike I haven't quite figured out yet
The Filante SLR ID2 builds on the existing Filante platform, and looks are still very important to Wilier



