Encouraged by 15,000 spectators, the European Championships got underway on the military domain of Lombardy. Michael Vanthourenhout started furiously, but could not maintain his pace. Thibau Nys also rode calculatedly at the head of the race. In the fourth round there was a first separation with three Belgians: Vanthourenhout, Joran Wyseure and Nys and the Dutchman Pim Ronhaar.
Ronhaar seemed to pull away for a moment in the final phase, but it was Nys who closed the gap. The tension remained high until the end of the race, Aerts, who had already impressed on the slopes, once again joined the leading group of the race. In a blood-curdling final round, Aerts chose the perfect moment. He took the inside track of Nys and sprinted to his second European title, almost ten years after his victory in Pontchâteau, France (2016). Joran Wyseure completed the Belgian party with a third place.