Ilan Van Wilder joins his countryman on the podium after riding to a remarkable bronze medal.
Remco Evenepoel produced a ride for the history books to claim his third consecutive medal at the World ITT Championships held in Kigali and show not just that he is the finest time trialist of his generation, but also one of the best in history.
It was one of the most crushing displays ever seen at the competition, over a 40.6km course which featured four climbs, including a cobbled one, and more than 800 vertical meters, but nothing could stop the Belgian from delivering an astonishing ride as he powered to glory in Rwanda. The last man to roll down the ramp Sunday afternoon, Evenepoel combined raw power and aerodynamics and dominated the race, going fastest through all three checkpoints before taking the gold medal with a phenomenal time of 49:46 thanks to an average speed close to 49km/h.
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On his way to glory, the 25-year-old caught and passed Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) – who started two and a half minutes before him – on the difficult Kimihurura climb, easing off only in the last couple of meters, where he celebrated his seventh gold medal at an international event.
It’s a fantastic day and it makes me incredibly proud of what I have achieved here!
“I felt pretty good straight away. On the first flat part, I felt that the legs were turning and was holding my pace without going over the limit. And then, the first climb of the day was actually quite hard, together with the last two ones, so I really pushed there. When I saw I had quite a big gap, I just said to myself that I had to keep the pace high the entire time. In the final part, I hated the cobbles, because it was so hard to really push through them, but in the end, I won, and this is the most important thing”, the Olympic Champion said after his perfect day on African soil.
Joining Evenepoel on the podium was Ilan Van Wilder, who claimed his first ever medal at a major competition after producing a tremendous ride that saw him take bronze in Kigali, a memorable 1 – 3 in Kigali that made Soudal Quick-Step one of the few trade teams in history to have two riders in the first three at the World ITT Championships.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am, it’s a result I wouldn’t have dreamed about before the start. The race was a difficult one, but I gave everything I had and tried to keep the same tempo the entire time, and I’m delighted that I could be on the podium together with Remco. It’s an unforgettable day in my career, and for Belgian cycling. I worked hard for this and I’m happy that I got rewarded for this with such a beautiful medal”, Ilan said after the race.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
