U19
European Championships U19: Herzog and Capello celebrate double victory
The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe juniors crown their outstanding season with gold and silver at the European Cycling Championships. In the end, four grenke - Auto Eder riders finished in the top ten.
With a strong solo performance, Karl Herzog secured the title of European U19 road champion on Saturday in Guilherand-Granges, France. The 16-year-old German won the continental championships after 103 kilometres with a 13-second lead over his rivals. This was the second title for the Herzog family in terms of major events. Today's Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe professional Emil Herzog, Karl's brother, won the title of Junior World Champion in road racing at the 2022 World Championships in Australia.
Three kilometres before the finish, I managed to close the gap to the leader. I then attacked straight away and was able to cross the finish line as a soloist.
“As I rode too aggressively at the World Championships last week, I decided to ride more defensively today. I stuck to this until the last lap, before I took advantage of a favourable opportunity and attacked. Three kilometres before the finish, I managed to close the gap to the leader. I then attacked again straight away and was able to cross the finish line as a soloist. Now I'm super happy - the German team did a great job,” said a delighted Herzog at the finish.
Roberto Capello won silver at the European Championships.
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The double victory for the grenke - Auto Eder team was completed by Roberto Capello, who finished second in the jersey of the Italian national team. Strong: With Noah Lindholm Møller Andersen (Denmark, fourth) and Georgs Tjumins (Latvia, tenth), two more riders from the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe junior team finished in the top ten.
Herzog's victory crowns an outstanding season and shows the maturity he has built up over the last few months.
John Wakefield, Director of Development at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, categorised the success as follows: “Herzog’s victory crowns a season of steady progression and growing maturity, showing the racer he’s becoming as his form peaked perfectly for this event. Capello’s second place caps a consistent and impressive final U19 season before stepping up to U23 in 2026. These result reflects the strong developmental focus of performance built on long-term development for the Red Bull -- BORA -- hansgrohe and grenke -- Auto Eder projects.”
