Remco Evenepoel proved once again that he is the best time trialist on the planet last Saturday afternoon as he powered to Olympic gold against the clock in Paris. They say that behind every great man is a great woman though, and in Evenepoel's case, Oumi Rayane is that woman.
After the dust has now settled on Evenepoel's Olympic triumph, Oumi has taken to her official Instagram account to reflect on the events of the day and the months of hard work in preparation for the 36:12 long effort the Belgian required to defeat the likes of Filippo Ganna, Wout van Aert and Joshua Tarling.
"Still can’t believe it!!! It’s a dream come true, but it didn’t happen overnight. It took years of preparation, and the past months have been a mental rollercoaster," begins Oumi's assessement of the success. "Here are a few key moments that led to this achievement:"
"A lot of testing! We went to Morgan Hill (USA) during our off-season for wind tunnel testing. As we say in my domain: ceteris paribus—keeping everything else constant while changing details like clothes, position, and equipment to analyze the differences in results," she writes as the first point of note. "Eat, train, sleep, repeat. Spending a lot of time on our mountain, living a spartan life, all for the big goals."
"Spending the night in the hospital after the big crash (only in April?!) and forcing a smile despite the circumstances," Oumi continues. "The moment after the surgery... a lot of tears, doubts (Will I find my level again? Was all this work for nothing?), demotivation. Trying to get back up after this disappointment, receiving good care to achieve a good level again, and playing nurse during the rehabilitation."
In fact, more than just a loving partner, Oumi took a hands on approach to Evenepoel's success. "Back to training! Remco wanted to test something ‘new’ so I helped him with it. Call me Coach Oumi," she jokes. "A lot of lonely weeks/months for me. Dinner alone, night alone, waking up alone, and so on… Making fresh and balanced food whenever he was back home, even if it was the night before my exam. It can be tough combining my university studies with all the wife duties, but in the end, it’s all worth it."
"Of course, this is just a small glimpse of everything. But if you keep working hard and never give up, you can make your dreams come true," she concludes. "So proud of you hubby!!"
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