This Friday 22nd of September, four riders of the structure Intermarché-Circus-Wanty lined up for the U23 road race at the European Championships organised in Drenthe, in the Netherlands.
Jasper Dejaegher represented Belgium for the first time, accompanied by Jelle Vermoote and in addition to Madis Mihkels (Estonia) and Francesco Busatto (Italy), who were already present at the world championships in Glasgow last month.
Mihkels and Busatto, protected riders within their national selections, realised a perfect race and played a major role at the end of the five local laps around the Col du VAM.
The Estonian rider of the World Team was close to finishing on the podium. The early breakaway resisted to the return of the peloton and Madis Mihkels sprinted for the bronze medal on top of the Col du VAM, finishing fourth after 134 kilometer.
His teammate of Circus-ReUz-Technord, Italian rider Francesco Busatto, achieved seventh place in the same time as Mihkels. Dejaegher and Vermoote both finished the race in service of their leaders.
It is a new reference result for Madis Mihkels in an international championship, after his bronze medal in the junior World Championship 2021, his fourth place at the U23 World Championship 2022 and top ten in the Junior European Championships in 2020 and 2021.
“Just like at the World Championships in Wollongong last year, I finished close to the medals. But this time I return home with my head held high, because I simply wasn’t able to react when Paul Magnier launched his final sprint for the bronze medal after the last corner. I have no regrets, because I raced in front the whole time. In retrospect I have probably been a little too active reacting to accelerations, but nobody could predict that the peloton would stay together behind the breakaway despite the high rhythm all day.”
