“I want to see exactly where our two wheels crossed the finish line”: Ciccone questions the European Championships photo finish

Giulio Ciccone does not consider the extremely tight conclusion of the European Championship to be closed. One day after losing the title to Remco Evenepoel by just 0.0028 seconds, the Italian has requested to see the corresponding photo finish exactly with the real finish line.

The Italian rider insists that he does not question Evenepoel's victory nor does he intend to replace the photo finish with television images. But he wants to verify that the plane on which the measurement was made exactly matches the place where, according to the regulations, the finish should be determined.

Ciccone requests to see the photo finish over the real finish line

The European Championship ended with one of the closest finishes we have seen in recent years. Ciccone arrived ahead at the last corner and launched the sprint, but Evenepoel managed to make up ground and threw his bike in the last centimeters. The difference was impossible to appreciate at a glance, and the judges ultimately awarded the victory to the Belgian through the photo finish.

According to the information published after the race, the margin used to separate the two was only 0.0028 seconds, that is, 2.8 milliseconds. Ciccone claims that since then he has repeatedly reviewed the conventional images of the finish and that what he observes in those where the line is painted on the asphalt does not quite match the official result.

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The Italian met this Monday with the commissioners and federal technicians, who explained to him how the system works and what criteria were used to interpret the photo finish. But Ciccone asserts that his request is not to receive a new technical explanation.

"I am asking to see the photo finish that corresponds exactly with the real finish line."

Ciccone wants to unequivocally verify the passage of both riders' front wheels over the exact point where the result was established. A request he considers especially important given the extraordinarily small margin that decided the gold.

The difference between the painted line and the photo finish plane

Ciccone's request brings the focus back to an aspect that can be confusing when observing this type of image.

As we explained in this article about how a photo finish works, the camera does not take a conventional photograph of the entire finish. The system continuously records an extremely narrow vertical line located at the finish plane, taking thousands of readings per second, and then places those records consecutively to construct the image.

That is why the horizontal axis of a photo finish represents time and not distance, and also why the bikes and their wheels may appear distorted. To determine the winner, the most advanced part of the front wheel is taken as a reference when it crosses that vertical plane.

The question Ciccone raises, therefore, is not whether the published image shows Evenepoel ahead. What he wants to verify is that the plane recorded by the system and used to decide the result corresponds exactly with the regulatory finish line.

"If a European title is decided by 2.8 milliseconds, I think it is legitimate to ask that this passage can be shown with the same precision with which the result was determined," explained the Italian.

Ciccone acknowledges that Evenepoel was the strongest

Despite his doubts about the procedure, Ciccone has wanted to completely separate this request from the performance of his rival. The Italian began his message by acknowledging that Evenepoel had been the strongest rider in the race and highlighted both his performance and his ability to manage a complicated event.

His request is limited exclusively to the verification of the finish.

"I am not asking for a television image to replace the photo finish. I am not questioning Remco's value or the extraordinary race he had," he explained before summarizing that his claim is limited to seeing the photo finish over the true finish line.

And he makes it clear what would happen if that verification confirms the official result: "If that image confirms the verdict, there will be nothing more to add". Until then, he asserts, he will continue to consider that there is a question that has not yet received an answer.