2025 European Championships: Federica Venturelli Dominates Junior Time Trial, Nienke Vinke Just Misses Podium

Federica Venturelli is the new European Under-23 time trial champion. For a moment, the battle for the title seemed close, but the Italian proved to be by far the fastest after a phenomenal finish, ahead of Finnish rider Anniina Ahtosalo and Belgian Luca Vierstraete. Nienke Vinke was also in medal contention for a long time but ultimately finished fourth.

On this very busy day of time trials, the categories followed each other in quick succession. After the junior time trials, it was the turn of the U23 riders. In the Drôme department, the U23 women faced a slightly rolling course of approximately 24.1 kilometers. The elevation gain totaled 176 meters, mostly concentrated in the last part of this not very technical time trial.

Nienke Vinke was the only Dutch U23 woman at the start, while the Belgian time trial effort was represented by Luca Vierstraete and Emma Siegers. Attention was also on recognized strong riders such as Viktória Chladoňová (the Rwandan vice-world champion), Federica Venturelli (bronze medalist at the recent World Championships), Anniina Ahtosalo, and Marie Schreiber. World champion Zoe Bäckstedt was notably absent.

Vinke delivers a strong time trial
Vinke was the first among the favorites to start, and she lived up to her status as a strong rider. The Picnic PostNL rider—who this year took ninth place at La Vuelta Femenina and secured the young rider’s jersey at the Tour de France Femmes—recorded a finishing time of 35'25''. This time proved too tough for many strong competitors: Swedish Stina Kagevi, German Linda Riedmann, and Spanish Paula Blasi all fell short against it.

The tension was palpable in France. A European title for Vinke was within reach, although two riders could still challenge this: Venturelli and Vierstraete. The Italian was fastest at the second intermediate checkpoint—six seconds quicker than Vinke’s time—but the Belgian remained fully in contention for the title, coming through just three seconds behind Venturelli.

But superior Venturelli has the final word
However, the Italian had something special in store. Indeed, the 20-year-old rider—who will make her professional debut next year with UAE Team ADQ—powered fiercely in the final section. At the finish line, the gap to Vinke was not six seconds but over a minute. This proved more than enough for the title. Ultimately, it was Finnish rider Ahtosalo who took silver at a respectful distance (+47 seconds), ahead of the surprisingly strong Vierstraete.

Vierstraete’s medal is significant from a Belgian perspective: never before has a Belgian rider taken home a time trial medal in the U23 category. For Vinke, the result was bitter: narrowly missing out on the podium with fourth place.