"He is a killer, a real pit bull" - Belgian coach proud to see Remco Evenepoel back in rainbows

Less than a week after losing his road race World Championships title to Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel has secured himself another Rainbow Jersey in the individual time-trial.

For Belgian national team coach Sven Vanthourenhout, it is a moment of immense pride. “You have to hand that to him, he was able to make the switch quickly. He wanted to make amends and stuck it between his ears," he says to Sporza, praising Evenepoel's mental fortitude. "That sets him apart from the rest. He is a killer, a real pit bull.”

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A winner by just 12 seconds over Filippo Ganna, Evenepoel grew into the course, looking more and more likely to become champion as it went on. According to Vanthourenhout, it was a case of preparation paying off for the Belgian.

"Evenepoel has a goal in mind and often achieves it. The bar is high, also for staff members, but he still manages to tick off his goals every time”, Vanthourenhout explains. “We have left nothing to chance and have been preparing for this World Championship for a long time. The support of the riders was also brought in and that is not unimportant for those men. We can certainly underline that."

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Evenepoel's Belgian teammate Wout van Aert secured himself a top-5 finish meaning it was an incredibly successful day for the Belgian believes Vanthourenhout.

"Wout actually started very well, but given the first intermediate, not good enough," he says. "When Filippo Ganna and Evenepoel passed, we knew that Van Aert should go a lot faster. That didn't happen with the second point and there we knew that he was no longer competing for a win. This time trial was a big goal for Van Aert, but he can still look back on a very good week.”

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“It was one of my biggest goals" - Remco Evenepoel is back in a Rainbow Jersey after taking time-trial title