Dylan van Baarle sacrificed himself in the final, but couldn't bring back Remco Evenepoel: "I just had to ride flat out until Mathieu could go again"
Cycling
The Netherlands had to make do with a twelfth place for Mathieu van der Poel at the Olympic road race in Paris. Dylan van Baarle sacrificed himself in the final for his leader, but was unable to keep Remco Evenepoel on a leash short enough for Van der Poel to jump across to the Belgian.
Regardless, Van Baarle will carry on mostly nice memories of the time spent in Paris. "It’s super special when you start at the Eiffel Tower and there are so many people at the course in the morning," the Dutchman explains at NOS afterwards. "It was also a really gruelling race. So yes, you have to let this sink in for a while."
In the end, the race did not go the way of the orange shirts. How was that possible? "When Mathieu attacked for the first time on the Montmartre, I tried to pick up my own pace a bit and get back with the group. At the moment that Remco went, I just got back. Then I knew that I just had to ride flat out until Mathieu could go again. Why did it not go our way? You can't always throw a six."
In the end it was Remco Evenepoel who took the win after an impressive solo. The Belgian was unstoppable. "Exactly," confirms Van Baarle. "There were three of us. Daan did a great job at the beginning. Then you notice that you may just be missing that guy to alternate a bit when I have been in the lead."
"Of course I would have liked to stay with Mathieu until the end, but I had to switch very quickly. I thought: if that group rides too far ahead, Mathieu won't have a chance at all. So yes, I was good, not super, but all in all I'm satisfied," he concludes.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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🇫🇷 #Paris2024 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞, Christophe! 🥉🇫🇷
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