Excited Eddy Merckx calls Remco Evenpoel's Olympic time trial gold "an unforgettable day for Belgian sport"

The wait has been long, but Begium can finally celebrate an Olympic time trial champion. With Remco Evenepoel, the traditional cycling country stepped up from its shadow to finally take gold medal against the clock. To add more reasons to celebrate, compatriot Wout van Aert came third, losing only to Evenepoel and Italian Filippo Ganna. The Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx was over the moon to see a Belgian win Olympic time trial in his lifetime.

"Great, fantastic! Unforgettable for Belgian sport, and cycling in particular," proclaimed Merckx at RTBF. The Belgian legend admitted to having had a few scares while following the race: "Yes, of course, there was tension, because you're always afraid that one or the other will fall. And everything went well, fortunately."

Read also

"At home he's just a normal guy who does his own laundry and makes dinner" - Urska Zigart on how Tadej Pogacar stays down to earth despite immense success

Did he expect both Belgian riders to secure spots on the podium? "Evenepoel, surely: after the Tour de France that he did I think he was the big favourite. But I think Van Aert prepared well too, and really it's great for him, it's almost a second career that's starting."

Does the 79-year-old Belgian still enjoy watching the Olympics like in his youth? "Absolutely, it still takes hold of me. It's great for Belgian sport," Merckx concluded with a prediction for the rest of the Games: "How many Belgian medals? I hope as many as possible... If there are ten, twelve, it will really be a successful Games."

Read also

VIDEO: American Taylor Knibb crashes three times during Olympic time-trial and even her mechanic fell in rainy conditions

VIDEO: How did Filippo Ganna stay upright? Italian suffers heart-stopping mishap in the middle of time-trial