European Cycling Championships: The Pope’s cyclist at the European Road Championships in Belgium

The European Road Cycling Championships are a relatively new affair. They have only been held for the elite since 2016; previously they were a junior competition. Some talents who later went on to have careers were already able to attract attention. The later sprint giant Marcel Kittel became the U23 time trial title holder in 2009. Lennard Kämna, now stage winner in all three Grand Tours, followed him in the same discipline and age group in 2016.

The Italian Edoardo Affini, 2018 U23 junior champion, followed up with the men’s time trial title on Wednesday. The Belgian Victor Campenaerts and the Swiss Stefan Küng also achieved victories in both the junior and elite categories. This at least underlines the increased importance of these continental title fights.

»During a race, the whole team has to work together.«

Pope Francis

This year even the current world champion, Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands), is coming to the European Championship road race in Limburg, Flemish. With the Dane Mads Pedersen, a former rainbow jersey wearer will be on the circuit under the sign of the European flag. But both are not among the top favorites. “The course is perhaps a little too easy for me and is an advantage for absolute mass sprinters,” said van der Poel in advance.

Raymond Poulidor’s grandson, known as “Poupou”, wants to compete. On the one hand, a star jersey is still missing from his collection. On the other hand, he wants to get himself going for the World Championship road race in Zurich. It will be held 14 days later. Its course is mountainous, with a whopping 4,470 meters of elevation gain over a distance of 273.9 kilometers. “I’m afraid it’s a little too heavy for me,” van der Poel looks ahead. In order to get some competitive toughness again for the difficult task of defending your title after the long break after the Tour de France and the Olympic Games, the 222.8 kilometer long European Championship course on Sunday with its around 1200 meters of altitude is suitable.

Because nothing can be ordered at the Climbing World Championships, almost the entire European sprinter guard is now competing at the European Championships. Belgium has two hot irons in the fire with Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen. In van der Poel’s Oranje team, when it comes down to a mass sprint, Olav Kooij works. He recently showed great form when he won the Cyclassics in Hamburg. For Italy, Jonathan Milan is the man to complete all work. He was narrowly beaten by Kooij in Hamburg. Pavel Bittner, who is only 21 years old, should be noted in the Czech team. He took a stage win and a second place at the Vuelta and, having survived the Grand Tour well, is probably even a little ahead of his immediate competitors in terms of the toughness of the competition.

The BDR squad is led by veteran John Degenkolb as road captain. If it comes down to a bunch sprint, Max Walscheid is the man to drive for. In smaller groups, Niklas Märkl, who is also very fast, or the classic car specialists Nils Politt and Jannik Steimle could try their luck. But a lot depends on how hard the Dutch team wants to make the race for van der Poel.

The European Championship has retained a bit of the old surprise bag character. 42-year-old Rien Schuurhuis has entered the men’s road race. The Dutch-born man moved to the Holy City four years ago – as the husband of the Australian ambassador to the Vatican. He has since become a triple citizen with Dutch, Australian and Papal passports.

His cycling career is rather mediocre. The best result so far was a 40th place (among 48 starters) at the Dutch time trial championships in 2021. What sets him apart as a globetrotter is that he drove one season with a Continental racing team in Australia and one in Laos.

He has already competed for the Vatican in two World Championship road races. He didn’t make it to the finish line both times, but achieved a certain level of prominence as the “Pope’s cyclist.” Pope Francis was so enthusiastic about the new cycling citizen that he published a statement emphasizing the similarities between the Catholic faith and cycling: “During a race, the whole team must work together. If you’re feeling bad, a teammate can help. Even in everyday life, it is important to act in a spirit of selflessness, generosity and community to help those who have fallen behind so that certain goals can be achieved together.

It’s just a shame that Schuurhuis is running as an individual starter for the Holy See. The eight-man teams from the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Germany form larger communities. Let’s see which of them heeds the papal command best.