Schreiber crossed the line first in Zeddam on Saturday, November 7, and raised a fist. Then she spent 15 minutes in the review room and walked out as the runner-up. The 23-year-old from Luxembourg was relegated for drifting fractionally left in the uphill sprint, and the gold went to Dutch home rider Lucinda Brand.

The commissaires called Schreiber in to go through the footage. Her complaint is about what happened once she got there.

Speaking to Cycling Up To Date, Schreiber said she was not given a chance to explain her side of the sprint. She called the process “incredibly disrespectful and unfair” and said the vote inside the room was not unanimous.

“Lucinda herself said afterwards that it was a fair sprint. She hadn’t lodged a protest either. The decision came entirely from the jury. Two of the three commissaires agreed with me. They also believed it was a fair sprint, but the jury president wouldn’t change his mind and decided to relegate me anyway.”

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Brand’s own team manager questioned the call

Sven Nys, who manages Brand at Baloise-Het Poetsbureau Lions, said to Domestique Cycling that his rider came off the course and told him Schreiber had deserved to win.

“Yes, she moves a little off her line. But is that really enough to relegate someone to second place in a championship?”

Brand had not filed a protest. The relegation came from the jury on its own motion.

Schreiber skipped the podium

Schreiber refused to climb the second step of the podium. She told Cyclingnews she had almost gone up anyway because she worried about how people would react, then changed her mind.

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“Yeah, I was going to go because I thought everyone’s going to hate me if I don’t go, but then it’s like if they’re being like this to me then I also don’t owe them anything.”

Her coach Sanne Cant said to Domestique Cycling she would not accept the outcome.

“We are all angry, disappointed and devastated. It is the most ridiculous decision I have ever heard of.”

Luxembourg’s appeal faces a closed door

The Luxembourg cycling federation filed an official complaint with the European Cycling Union on Sunday, November 8, asking that the race be classified in the order the riders crossed the finish line, as Brujula Bike has detailed.

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UCI rules bar direct appeals against the commissaires’ on-the-day assessment of a race incident, which closes off the standard route. The UCI Disciplinary Commission could in principle step in only if the officials missed facts, which is difficult to argue when they reviewed the footage before ruling. A path via the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the global tribunal for sports disputes, remains theoretically open but is not guaranteed admission.

Brand stands as the 2026 European champion in the official standings while the complaint sits with the UEC.

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