Finding. Remco Evenepoel won the European championships road race ahead of Giulio Ciccone, after almost 200 kilometres. According to Sporza, 0.0028 seconds separated them. The photo finish named Evenepoel. I copy the figure out twice. It does not change.
The next day, Ciccone wrote a long message on Instagram. I read it at the town hall, between two identity cards, with the same seriousness. Firstly, he calls Evenepoel the strongest rider in the race. “Remco was the strongest rider in the race yesterday. He rode like a champion,” he writes, according to WielerFlits. I note. It is a public act of respect, and it is dated.
Secondly, he says he has watched the available footage hundreds of times. He states that, that same morning, the commissaires and the technical staff of the Italian federation explained to him how the photo finish works and the criteria of interpretation. He does not ask for another explanation. I note that he listened to the explanation before asking his question. That is the correct order of operations.
Thirdly, the request. “I am asking for the photo finish that corresponds exactly to the actual finish line. I want to be able to see beyond any doubt how our wheels pass the exact point where the rulebook places the finish,” he writes, again according to WielerFlits. I read it again. He does not ask for another winner. He asks for an exhibit. An exhibit is either added to the file or it is not.
Fourthly, he sets his own closing deadline: if these images confirm the result, there will be nothing more to add. I have never seen a rider draft his own closing clause. I file it in the folder, with the socks.
I do not judge the photo. I do not judge the colleagues who read it. I judge the compliance of the request.
Compliant.
The dot he placed alone above a photo on Strava, according to Sporza, I do not note. A dot is not an article.
It’s true, we checked: Sporza.
