"Remco is a candidate to become Olympic champion" - Belgian optimistic on Evenepoel's chances of victory in Olympic Games time-trial

The Olympic Games are about to start and already this Saturday we will have the time-trial events that will dictate a new champion. With Primoz Roglic out of the picture a new rider will take on the special title and amongst the favourites is Remco Evenepoel, fresh off a terrific Tour de France, and according to his coach with solid chances of taking the victory too.

“A medal must be our ambition, that cannot be denied. Remco is a candidate to become Olympic champion. But I think the best times will be quite close together, so it is difficult to predict who will win," Belgian coach Sven Vanthourenhout told La Dernière Heure." I think Remco has a better chance than Wout and I think Wout is aware of that. Wout finished the Tour in a much better shape than he started it and his participation was the best choice with a view to his next goals. I think Wout is capable of setting a good time this weekend, but it is difficult to set a target.”

Van Aert has not put has much focus against the clock this year and at the Tour de France he certainly did not impress in the time-trials, coming in with distant results to the best on both efforts including the mostly flat stage 7 time-trial. There he was only 24th, losing 1:51 minutes to Evenepoel with whom he will team up in Paris. But the main rivals for Evenepoel will likely come in the form of Filippo Ganna and Joshua Tarling of INEOS Grenadiers (Italy and Great Britain respectively) who have done specific preparation for this day, away from the fatigue of the Tour

“Simply because they have chosen to prepare themselves very specifically for the Olympic Games and for this time trial. Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt the intrinsic capacities of Wout and Remco. They just won't approach this time trial the same way,” Vanthourenhout adds, but this may not be a decisive factor for the decision of the winner.

However it is a time-trial that doesn't throw up many surprises, the Belgian believes it is an effort that is quite simple to gauge: "There are only a few bends in the course, for the rest it is full throttle from start to finish. Power and aerodynamics will be essential on Saturday. Wout and Remco were not surprised by what they discovered on Wednesday. The reconnaissance created enthusiasm.”