Soudal Quick-Step’s Belgian took the 13th medal of his career at an international event.
Remco Evenepoel became the first male rider to be on the podium of both the road race and the time trial at a single edition of the World Championships multiple times, repeating his feat of 2022, when the event was held in Australia. The 25-year-old was one of the strongest riders of the 267.5km race, which featured 5500 meters of elevation, and after more than six hours of relentless racing, he finished in second place, behind Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia), who retained his title.
Of the 35 climbs on the course, Mont Kigali (5.9km, 6.9%), which came with 104 kilometers to go, ended up playing a huge role in the outcome, as it was there that the reigning champion pushed a hard tempo that shredded the peloton to pieces and left only a trio of riders in the lead. Evenepoel found himself in the third group, but thanks to a fantastic effort of his Soudal Quick-Step teammate Louis Vervaeke, he made it back to the peloton, which at that moment was trailing the leaders by 45 seconds.
Unfortunately for the Belgian, he had to change his bike in an important moment of the race, and by the time he got back in the saddle, he found himself almost two minutes behind. Not the one to give up, Evenepoel staged a phenomenal comeback using his time trial skills, caught the various groups in front of him and then moved to the front of what remained of the peloton, sparking an important selection.
Only four riders were capable of joining the three-time ITT World Champion, who motored at the front of this group, doing most of the work and helping the quintet open an important gap on those trailing them. The tempo pushed by Evenepoel led to two riders being spat out the back, leaving only three men in contention for the last two podium spots. With 20 kilometers to go, Remco bolted away from his companions and quickly put some daylight into them, riding to a hard-fought and well-deserved silver medal in Rwanda, after a huge display of sheer grit and determination.
“I wanted to win today and I felt great from the start of the race, but things didn’t go as planned today. My teammates did a great job and silver is still a good result at the end of the day after the gold medal I took in the time trial a week ago, but there is a sense of disappointment. On the other hand, we can be proud of what we achieved as a team. I still have a couple of races left in the program before I conclude the season, including the European Championships, and I’m ready to give my best”, Remco said after the podium ceremony.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
