ME in Cycling 2025: Kozornáová Finishes Ninth in U23 Time Trial
Loriol-Sur-Vrôme, France – Slovak cyclist Viktória Kozornáová finished ninth in teh Women’s U23 time trial at the European Championships in France on Tuesday, missing a medal by just over a minute. The 24km race saw Italy’s Federica Ventulli claim victory in a time of [time not provided in original text], marking the greatest success of her career.
Ventulli, who recently finished just off the podium at the World Championships in Kigali, will wear a white adn blue jersey with yellow stars as recognition of her win. Finland’s Annina Ahtosal finished second, 48 seconds behind Ventulli, while Belgian Luca Vierstrate rounded out the podium.
Kozornáová started strongly, holding fifth place at the opening checkpoint, but gradually fell back, finishing with a total time 1:22 minutes slower than Ventulli. Despite dropping too twelfth before the final climb, she battled to secure ninth position, narrowly missing eighth place by 0.51 seconds to Austria’s Tabea Huys.
Fellow Slovakian Sofia Unger finished 15th in the 36-rider field, more than two minutes behind the winner.
Both Kozornáová and Unger are scheduled to compete in Friday’s mass start races, where Kozornáová will be a strong contender for a medal.