HISTORY MADE IN FRONT OF OUR EYES! Remco Evenepoel becomes the first rider to ever win time-trial and road race at Olympic Games with incredible solo
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel has won twice in the Olympic Games. The Belgian rider has done history, winning the time-trial and now the road race (the first rider in the sport's history to do so) as well with an impressive solo attack that see Belgium take another gold medal.
The 274-kilometer race was expected to blow up right from the start but this was not the case. Five riders from smaller nations however did take the opportunity and made a move right in the start: Christopher Rougier-Lagane, Achraf Ed Doghmy, Charles Kagimu, Thanakhan Chaiyasombat and Eric Manizabayo.
The five-rider group first built a gap of 6 minutes before Denmark and the Netherlands started controlling. Then they stopped and the gap grew to a whole 15 minutes. Another group of four riders including Ryan Mullen, Elia Viviani, Gleb Syritsa and Georgios Bouglas also got a few minutes of lead.
Eventually the two groups merged in front and began to lose riders at the same time... Whilst behind Tiesj Benoot of Belgium joined the chase so that the big three teams were all putting in the effort to close the gap. In the final 100 kilometers, 92 more specifically, the action finally started in the peloton. Late but in time for a lot of explosivity... Ben Healy, Derek Gee and others were among the attackers that were stretching out the peloton and forcing some tactical choices for the big teams.
Healy and Alexey Lutsenko got a gap over the peloton in one of the climbs and then linked up with Ryan Mullen, the last survivor of the breakaway, who supported them for a few kilometers. Belgium put in a few stints that did some damage in the peloton behind on the climbs. Remco Evenepoel also attacked but was swiftly covered by his main rivals who were alive to the danger.
With around 60 kilometers to go the front duo began to be chased by a strong chasing group featuring Valentin Madouas, Fred Wright, Stefan Küng, Nils Politt, Marco Haller, Michael Woods and Jambaljamts Sainbayar. Entering the final circuit in Paris the front duo (soon to just be Healy in the lead) had over a minute on the peloton and half a minute on the chasing group.
Van der Poel attacked the first time up the cobbled climb in the circuit, matched only by Wout van Aert. Julian Alaphilippe, Toms Skujins and Matteo Jorgenson joined and formed a small group but without ideal collaboration they were caught by chasers. With 38 kilometers to go Mads Pedersen bridged across with a few riders in the wheel and Remco Evenepoel launched his winning attack, getting a gap right away over the main favourites, catching the chasing group soon after.
Dylan van Baarle began the chase for the Netherlands and the second time up the climb van der Poel attacked with van Aert again in the wheel, but was caught in a Belgian trap. Evenepoel had in the meantime caught Healy and dropped everyone in his group besides Madouas. But with 15 kilometers to go the Belgian's pace was simply too hard for anyone else and he went solo off the front. With 4 kilometers to go he punctured, a very dramatic and stressful moment as he with no radio he did not know the gap to his rivals behind. But the victory was safe.
Behind Madouas secured a second place that earned him a strong silver medal whilst compatriot Christophe Laporte sprinted to third from the chasing group getting the last medal.
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Remco's private thoughts might be......Thanks must go to the corrupt and stupid Slovenian Cycling Association for leaving Urska out of their team. The Pog is the only rider who might have given me a run for my money!
Not the first person.. first male... see Leontien Van Moorsel already did this in Sydney 2000 Olympics
Congrats to Remco! Tadej why weren't you there this week? Maybe his reasoning not to participate was faulty. I guess for the next four years will be see Remco with Olympic gold on his bike and jersey. France did well with two podium spots. The USA did well for the USA. PS It's hard to imagine drafting off Remco as he is a very short rider. I had two members on our team that short and there seemed to be very little benefit drafting behind them. His small size plus his "numbers" will make him a tough competitor for years to come.
Well done Remco and Belgian team. This is the best Belgian tactics that i have ever seen. Neutralizing MVDP. Negating the French and blowing away the Danes. Perfect
Now let's see if they can deploy the same tactics against Pogi in the World's road race.
No chance . In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king. He knows Pog is a level above him.
I watched it live and I was thinking, don't let him have a mechanical in the last 10k or so.... Glad he had a team car to give him a bike! Remco is something else, exciting race.
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- if there is an actual weakness in wout even when completely healthy, it’s that he’s in his head too often. this has been pointed out many times by much more acute observers of cycling than ME, certainly. it may be that he’s been like this since he was a little kid. we are who we are. or that he was shaped by having faced van der poel SOOO many times. mvdp has zero second thoughts. he wastes no time at all on doubt. that has, in the past, led him to do some pretty insane things and make mistakes that wout would never have committed. but it also makes him a killer. you can see wout’s split seconds of doubt and hesitation everywhere in their head to head battles. those hesitations spill over into other races at times like dwars, when doubt creeps in. i believe that currently he is still coming back from physical problems due to injuries, but even when he’s full strength the mental game is an area of potential concern, AND potential improvement.OCexile03-04-2025
- Not only the public, just about every analyst and commentator had been piling it on. Under the circumstances I’d even say he’s showing real character. Not sure likeable Tadej would manage as well during a longer rough patch.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- Took a while but we finally have a more nuanced analysis.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- If I remember right, it was those same hungry journalists selling us a different story less than a year ago about the bleak future of Dutch (men’s) cycling with no possible successor for MVDP ;-)Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- Good, hopefully Jonas goes also so we get a nice duelvappaxbipmv03-04-2025
- right? i think it’s hungry journalists that fuel this, and i understand the jam they can be in trying to create stories, but you’d hate to think ANYONE is failing to appreciate how RARE someone like van der poel is (or how LUCKY we are to have both mvdp and pog racing at the same time). a little perspective is a good thing…OCexile03-04-2025
- Anyone know how long that 213km ride took? Coz without that the segment speeds don’t reveal anything surprising. If it took him Less than 5h ok but otherwise it was just some interval training for him.Jumpyjohn03-04-2025
- Hinault was even lighter than Pog at 62 kg when he won PR in 1981, beating Roger van Vlaeminck no less (albeit at the fag end of the latter's career), so it can be done.Cooldude03-04-2025
- Having to shoulder too much pressure from the Belgain public too much that he made a tactical mistake. That's what public pressure does to you. Poor Wout! Hopefully, lady luck befalls him soon.
KerisVroom03-04-2025 - If he's very lucky maybe he can podium a Tour one season, I certainly don't believe he can win it, evervappaxbipmv03-04-2025