From 1st to 5th October, the roads of the Drôme and Ardèche departments (France) will host the 2025 UEC Road European Championships, one of the most prestigious and much-awaited events of the international cycling season. During the five days of competition, a total of 896 athletes from 44 countries will compete for the 14 continental titles at stake: Road races and Time Trials for Juniors, Under 23 and Elite (Men and Women), as well as Elite and Juniors Mixed Relays.
Thanks to Eurovision's TV coverage, the event will be followed throughout Europe and promises to be one of the highlights of the season. This edition will also mark the tenth Elite European Championships, first introduced in 2016 in Plumelec (France), confirming the growing prestige of this continental event.
The entry lists feature a host of champions who have made their mark on the recent history of world cycling.
In the Men's Elite Road Race, one of the big favourites is Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia), four-time winner of the Tour de France and recent winner of the Road World Championships in Kigali (Rwanda), where he won his second consecutive rainbow jersey. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark), winner of two Tours de France and the last Vuelta Espana, will also be at the start, ready to play his cards on a demanding course like the one in France.
Belgium will be relying on Remco Evenepoel, Olympic gold medallist in the Road race and Time Trial at the Paris 2024 Games and multiple world champion.
Portugal will field João Almeida, who finished on the podium in the recent Vuelta a España. Switzerland, meanwhile, will be led by Marc Hirschi, winner of the Flèche Wallonne and a stage of the Tour de France, known for his explosiveness in the most demanding finishes.
The men's Time Trial will feature the great specialists of the discipline. As well as Evenepoel, Almeida and Ganna, French champion Bruno Armirail, Swiss riders Stefan Küng (multiple European champion and world medallist) and Stefan Bissegger will be in the line-up.
In the Elite Women's Road Race, all eyes will be on Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France), the athlete who won the Olympic cross-country title in 2024 at the Paris Games and who won Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France in 2025. Italy will be counting on Elisa Longo Borghini, winner of Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d'Italia Femminile, as well as a medallist at the World and European Championships.
For the Netherlands, Anna van der Breggen, former Olympic and world champion and multiple winner of the Giro Rosa, is back in the game after an extraordinary career. For Switzerland, there will be Marlene Reusser, European champion and Olympic medallist in the Time Trial, one of the best specialists in the world.
In the women's Time Trial, world champion Reusser will face Cédrine Kerbaol, French Time Trial champion, and Juliette Labous, both ready to shine in front of their home crowd, as well as Anna Kiesenhofer (Austria), who won the Olympic Road race title in Tokyo 2021 with a legendary solo effort.
Enrico Della Casa, President of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme: “The Road European Championships are the highlight of our season, and this year's edition is particularly significant as it marks the tenth anniversary of the Elite category, which was introduced in 2016 in Plumelec. Celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Elite category in France, where it all began, is of extraordinary symbolic and sporting importance. The participation of champions who have written unforgettable pages in the history of modern cycling guarantees days of great entertainment that the public will be able to follow with passion, thanks in particular to the Eurovision television coverage.
I would like to thank the French Cycling Federation, presided by Michel Callot, with whom we have enjoyed a strong relationship based on mutual trust for many years. We are very grateful to the departments of Drôme and Ardèche, as well as the towns and municipalities that have embraced the project with enthusiasm and conviction.
Finally, my sincere thanks go to the Local Organising Committee led by Guillaume Delpech who, together with his entire competent team, has once again demonstrated the professionalism, passion and attention to detail that make this event unique. I am certain that, thanks to their commitment, we will experience a memorable event that will leave a lasting mark on our sport."
