25/09/2022

Remco Evenepoel becomes new World Champion following daredevil solo attack

The Belgian rider rode the final 26 kilometers solo after an aggressive ride which has earned him the World title in Wollongong in impressive fashion. Remco Evenepoel was glorious at the World Championships, taking the gold medal, whilst Christophe Laporte and Michael Matthews took second and third on the road.

The race exploded early on with over 60 kilometers to go, as a move up Mount Pleasant split the peloton, leaving most of the main favourites behind a group of around 25 riders which included Remco Evenepoel, aswell as several other quality climbers, puncheurs and classics riders.

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The gap grew to over two minutes as the organization in the peloton was almost non-existing, leaving the win to be battled in the front. Going through the finish line with 33 , Evenepoel attacked together with Alexey Lutsenko. In the following climb however Evenepoel went solo, in a performance typical of his style of riding. He was never again to be seen, the Belgian had the legs on the day and extended his gap to the whole chasing group which split apart, whilst managing to keep his gap to the peloton as the attacks started in the penultimate climb.

There, Wout van Aert attacked in the peloton to try and create a group that could still fight for the win, whilst Lutsenko formed group with Mauro Schmid, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Lorenzo Rota and Mattias Skjelmose. The group could not catch up with the Belgian however, and was caught inside the final kilometers after much start-stop action in the peloton, which allowed most of the sprinters to survive the course and be within the chance of a medal.

In the end Evenepoel arrived at the finish with over two minutes of advantage, as Christophe Laporte sprinted to second place on the day, followed by Michael Matthews. Wout van Aert, Matteo Trentin, Alexander Kristoff and Peter Sagan followed close behind, as the puncheurs and climbers - besides Evenepoel - had to settle for minor places.