There are barely any altimeters, a great list of winners to add yourself to, and a nice race. There are enough reasons for the top of the sprinters' guild to travel to Belgium for the Flanders Championship this Friday.

Mathieu van der Poel made repeated attempts to bend the European Championships road race to his will on Sunday, but the Dutchman’s aggression was eventually snuffed out with 25km to go and the race ended in a bunch sprint.

Mads Pedersen went on the attack several times with Mathieu van der Poel and other adventurers during the European Championships but could not break the grip of Italy and Belgium on the race and so stop the race ending in a sprint.

Mathieu van der Poel, along with Mads Pedersen, was a major force at the European Cycling Championship in Belgian Limburg. However, the Dutchman’s aggressive approach did not pay off in Hasselt. His final attempt fell short with twenty kilometers to go,