Hector Alvarez wins European under-23 road title as Jan Jackowiak takes silver

Men's under-23 road race in Slovenia

Spain's Hector Alvarez won the under-23 men's road race at the European Cycling Championships in Slovenia on Friday, completing the 142-kilometer course solo in 3:02:22. Eighteen-year-old Polish cyclist Jan Jackowiak, a product of UKS Copernicus Toruń competing in his debut under-23 season, earned the silver medal by crossing the line in Sencur 20 seconds behind Alvarez. Belgium's Niels Driesen secured the bronze medal with a 32-second deficit to the winner, while Germany's Max Bock finished fourth. Jackowiak entered the event weeks after finishing eighth overall at the Tour de l'Avenir, the highest general classification result by a Polish rider in that race. Polish squad members Dawid Lewandowski and Filip Surdyk finished 19th at 2 minutes 8 seconds back and 37th at 5 minutes 34 seconds back, respectively, while Szymon Ilski also represented Poland in the event.

Race dynamics and the decisive attacks

The 142-kilometer course featured three climbs that steadily broke up the peloton. At the 77-kilometer mark, over one hundred riders still formed the main pack as Italy's Nicolas Milesi set the pace at the front. The race opened up under 40 kilometers from the finish when Italian rider Roberto Capello attacked and established a lead of several dozen seconds. The peloton absorbed Capello before Alvarez launched a solo attack roughly 34 kilometers from the finish to take the race lead. Jackowiak joined a chase group that included Driesen, Bock, Belgium's Matisse Van Kerckhove, and Italy's Mattia Negrente. Jackowiak, Driesen, and Bock bridged the gap to Alvarez approximately 10 kilometers before the finish, but Alvarez attacked again on the final climb to pull away for victory.

Jackowiak discussed his approach in an interview with Interia.

I always aim very high and I am critical of myself.

Women's under-23 road race outcome

In the women's under-23 road race held on the same day, Switzerland's Mara Winter won the European title in 2:26:48. Netherlands' Nienke Vinke finished second and Slovakia's Viktoria Chladonova placed third, with both riders registering the same official time as Winter. Martyna Szczęsna was the highest-placed Polish rider, finishing 25th with a gap of 3 minutes 6 seconds. Her compatriots Weronika Wąsaty and Maja Tracka finished in 29th and 30th places, trailing by 4 minutes 59 seconds and 5 minutes 19 seconds, respectively. Polish riders Nadia Hartman and Urszula Sipko started the contest but did not finish.

European championship schedule and Polish roster

The European Cycling Championships in Slovenia started on Friday, 2 October, and will conclude on 7 October. The competition program for Saturday features the elite women's and junior road races, where Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney is scheduled to race. Niewiadoma-Phinney entered the championships after winning the silver medal at the world championships in Montreal a week prior. She holds three career medals from the European championships, having claimed silver in 2016 and 2025 along with bronze in 2020.