Road European Championships: Jonathan Vervenne wins for Belgium in under-23 men's time trial

Jonathan Vervenne kept the European under-23 men's time trial title in Belgium for the fourth year in a row following three triumphs from Alec Segaert.

The 22-year-old edged out fellow Belgian Matisse Van Kerckhove by 1.6 seconds on the 24km course in Etoile-sur-Rhône, finishing his ride with an average speed of 47.266kph with a time of 30:27.96.

The Belgian pair beat Adam Rafferty (Ireland) into third place. He scored the bronze medal at six seconds down.

Latest Videos From

Watch full video here:

Maxime Decomble (France) and Mads Landbo (Denmark) rounded out the top five at 15 and 26 seconds down, respectively.

Vervenne, who will join the pros with Soudal-QuickStep for 2026, finished eighth at the recent under-23 time trial at the Road World Championships in Rwanda behind Sweden's Jakob Söderqvist, who races with the elites this week. He said he didn't expect this result.

"I knew that I was in good shape and that on a good day I could come close to victory, but I can’t say I was expecting to become European Champion," he said after his win.

"As soon as I rolled down the ramp, I rode according to my pre-race pacing plan, but then, in the second part of the race, I increased the speed, as I felt better and better. Maybe that was what made the difference in the end on this course which I liked a lot.

"It feels amazing to bring to a conclusion my time in the U23 with such a big success. It’s something that makes me very proud and motivates me for next year, when I can’t wait to race in the World Tour”, said Jonathan, who in 2026 will turn pro with Soudal-QuickStep."

Results

Results powered by FirstCycling