"We are writing history as a team" - Belgian national coach over the moon with Remco Evenepoel's double Olympic triumph

Belgium have won both gold medals in the men's events at the Olympic Games, and both have been taken by Remco Evenepoel, the first male rider to do so in the history of the sport. Whilst at times under pressure, the team managed to pull out of the race with the perfect result after a massive performance by the 24-year old who crossed the line in Paris solo.

"We are writing history as a team. It is also hard for me to believe that I am allowed to be part of this," Sven Vanthourenhout told Wielerflits. "It is something we should be very proud of, I think. What I am also very proud of - and I already said this yesterday to those four men - is that I was here with them again. And that I have a staff that I can count on." The team initially had to put Tiesj Benoot on the chase of the day because of the large gap taken by the front riders, not an ideal situation. Over the hills before the final circuit they couldn't put the rest under pressure and in fact saw plenty riders enter the decisive phase of the race still with a lead.

"That allowed us to bluff a bit in the first hundred kilometers. We said: we are definitely not going to be the first. But at some point you shouldn't let your leaders get nervous. Then we let Tiesj ride along, but in such a way that the rest would feel it too. Half the peloton had to be at their wits' end. Tiesj did a great job," he says. Then, it was up to the leaders to put in the watts required to fight for the medal.

"Nobody, absolutely nobody in the world can ride up a hill like Montmartre like Mathieu van der Poel. He is a phenomenal athlete who can make an effort that would normally make everyone sit up," he says. But not Wout van Aert, who was the only rider managing to match him the first two times up the ascent. "We talked about it extensively. Wout said: 'I'm going to try, I have nothing to lose. I'm the only one of the four who should be able to do that, or at least come close. So I take the responsibility to do that'."

Van Aert responded to the Dutchman's first attack and didn't contribute much to the move, which allowed Evenepoel to come back and then attack off the front of the group, which eventually resulted in a victory for the team. Evenepoel dropped everyone he caught up with in the final 38 kilometers, whilst van Aert didn't obtain a result due to a late crash.

"We made Remco's point later. And that's where he eventually rode away. That was clear to everyone. It all seemed easy, but you need the quality of the guys to pull this off," he concluded.