"One goal is still there: the Tour. Why wouldn't that be possible?" - Remco Evenepoel making Belgian cycling fans dream after OIympic dominance

There is no doubt about who is the brightest star in modern Belgian cycling. After cracking the final podium on his Tour de France debut earlier this summer, a double Olympic gold is making Belgian cycling fans dream that Remco Evenepoel could end the long wait for a new Maillot Jaune winner.

"He won the Tour of Spain. And if you can win that, you can also win the Giro d'Italia. Then that one goal is still there: the Tour. Why wouldn't that be possible?" analyses the experienced Jose de Cauwer for Sporza after Evenepoel's sensational solo triumph in the men's elite road race at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Saturday saw the 24-year-old secure his second gold medal win of this Games, following his time trial triumph the weekend prior. 

As mentioned, Evenepoel finished 3rd overall on his Tour de France debut earlier this summer, albeit nearly ten minutes down on the winner of the Maillot Jaune, Tadej Pogacar and three minutes behind second placed Jonas Vingegaard in the general classification. "Pogacar and Vingegaard won't be in the same condition every time," De Cauwer insists however.

"People sometimes say that Remco can't gain much more. Well, I think that Remco can gain a lot more. Even if it's just experience. At the European Championships in Italy a few years ago, he was still racing naively. That naivety has all gone, hasn't it. Those kilos that came off in the run-up to the Tour, came off pretty quickly. He can win any one-day race with the necessary preparation," continues the Sporza pundit and commentator. "That other story will come anyway. He will work towards that in his own way. You know, when he sets himself a goal..."

Regardless of what happens in the future though, De Cauwer has been left incredibly impressed by Evenepoel's Olympic double. "Especially the way he controls the race is phenomenal. Everyone knows it. It's no surprise," the Belgian expert concludes. "He had predicted it, just like at the World Championships in Wollongong. There too he said that after a few days he was even better than at the beginning. Especially the apparent ease with which he does this. Pulling away, accelerating and gaining a minute and a half without that flat tire. Just like that."