Trentin wins European road championships; Sagan abandons

Italy’s Matteo Trentin won the European road race championships in Glasgow, Scotland ahead of the Netherland’s Mathieu van der Poel and Belgium’s Wout van Aert.

Trentin, who fractured his spine earlier in the year at Paris-Roubaix, was happy to take the hard-fought victory.

“It’s incredible to have won after everything I’ve been through recently,” said Trentin after the race. “We rode perfectly as a team and I have to thank everyone who has supported me during my problems and injuries. Nothing went right for eight months and so I want to thank everyone who was there for me. This is a great day!”

Peter Sagan, European champion in 2016, seemed to be still suffering from his brutal Tour de France crash. He was never in the game and was dropped with just under 100 kilometers. He abandoned a few kilometers later.

“I was not in good shape and I still have a lot of pain from the crash at the Tour de France,” said Sagan.

“It was a very technical circuit, and it was hard, and in the end, well, I still have a lot of pain in my back and my hip. I think I need more time to recover from that crash.

“I still have some races left; I have Hamburg and the Vuelta, and we will see. I will try to fight for my best at the end of the season.”