Primož Roglič beats Bruno Armirail to win European time trial gold in Slovenia

Gold medal on home roads

Primož Roglič secured the men's individual time trial title at the European Cycling Championships on Wednesday, competing before a home crowd in Šenčur, Slovenia. The 36-year-old rider for Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe covered the 22-kilometre course in 28 minutes and 16 seconds, recording an average speed of 46.68 km/h. Roglič's ride delivered Slovenia its only medal at the 2026 European Championships. The victory marks the 93rd professional win of his career, adding a European title to the Olympic time trial gold medal he won at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Roglič had previously contested the European time trial championships only once, finishing seventh a decade earlier.

Race splits and the Mozjanca climb

The course around Šenčur featured a single primary ascent, the Mozjanca climb, which measured 2.1 kilometres with an average gradient of 10.2%. Roglič established an early lead on the climb, passing the first timing checkpoint at eight kilometres with a 12-second advantage over France's Bruno Armirail. Armirail narrowed the gap to nine seconds at the second intermediate split and closed further in the final kilometres. Roglič crossed the line with a winning margin of 6.59 seconds (rounded to seven seconds in several classifications) to take the gold medal.

Podium places and top-ten standings

French riders secured both remaining positions on the podium. The 32-year-old Armirail took the silver medal, while his compatriot Maxime Decomble, aged 21 and the youngest rider in the field, finished 28.43 seconds behind Roglič to take bronze. Belgium's Ilan Van Wilder took fourth place, 33 seconds behind the winner and four seconds shy of the podium. Switzerland's Stefan Küng placed fifth at 35 seconds after losing roughly 30 seconds on the Mozjanca ascent, matching the time lost on the climb by Sweden's Jakob Söderqvist. Italy's Marco Frigo finished seventh, 55 seconds back, while Belgium's Sander De Pestel took 17th place at 1:13 and Dutch rider Sjoerd Bax finished 23rd at 1:39.

Championship context and absent rivals

Roglič's victory succeeded defending champion Remco Evenepoel on the honours list. Several prominent contenders did not take part in Wednesday's time trial. Evenepoel, who had won the European road race on the same circuit on Sunday, chose to skip the time trial to focus on the upcoming Il Lombardia classic on Saturday. France's Paul Seixas also withdrew to prepare for Lombardia, while Italy's Filippo Ganna opted to prepare for the Track Cycling World Championships in Shanghai. Slovenia's Tadej Pogačar was absent following injuries sustained in a crash at the Vuelta a España, while Dutch rider Axel van der Tuuk withdrew due to illness.

Women's and under-23 competitions

The men's elite time trial followed earlier continental title races held on the Šenčur route. In the women's individual time trial, Switzerland's Marlen Reusser took the gold medal, beating Dutch rider Demi Vollering, who claimed silver. In the men's under-23 category, Belgian rider Matisse Van Kerckhove finished second to secure the silver medal. The European Championships concluded their individual time trial program ahead of the remaining international road races scheduled across the autumn cycling calendar.