VIDEO: Fan captures Remco Evenepoel's despair after Olympic Games puncture - "I got a bit nervous, especially because there were signs indicating I only had a 25-second lead"

Remco Evenepoel's victory at the Olympic Games Road Race will be one for the ages and without a doubt one of the best one-day race performances of modern times. But it wasn't without it's obstacles as the Belgian punctured with just a few kilometers to go to the finish and was in despair, not knowing the true gaps behind. His video yelling for a new bike was captured by spectators on the side of the road.

"I hit a cobblestone and instantly went flat. Fortunately, the car was right behind me," Evenepoel said in a post-race interview. "At that moment, I got a bit nervous, especially because there were signs indicating I only had a 25-second lead. The situation wasn't really clear to me". The real situation on the road was that he had over one minute over Valentin Madouas and the next chasing group meaning that unless something abnormal happened, the victory was still secure. But the bike change saw lots of yelling, rushing and stressing due to the Olympics' nature.

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Captured by TV broadcast but also fans, it is very visible in Evenepoel's reaction just how important this situation could've been for the career of the Belgian. And only after the race did we learn actually that the chances he would've lost the race because of it were actually very real.

Coach Sven Vanthourenhout admitted that it was in fact sheer luck that Evenepoel punctured that late in the race, because he wasn't actually able to drive up to the Belgian until the gap was already of over a minute to the chasers. This is because the commissaires didn't allow him to pass the riders in the narrow circuit roads. If the mechanical had happened a few minutes earlier the Belgian could've outright lost his Olympic title after already being off the front and alone.

The team manager was able to get to Evenepoel at the last minute and although it was a very stressful situation, it was handled in the best way possible. "I was initially just glad we were there. It was super hectic to be there with the car. We had to race within the race to get there. I wanted to immediately reassure him by driving next to him and communicating his lead. Actually, the jury didn’t allow that, so maybe it will still cost me a fine," he laughed off.

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yann le coz

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The Remco puncture 😱

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