Remco Evenepoel in the sandwich with Italians Filippo Ganna (left) and Edoardo Affini
Image: Keystone
Golden on the road: Remco Evenepoel
Image: Keystone
Evenepoel takes time to celebrate after crossing the finish line despite only having a six-second lead
Image: Keystone
A kiss for the world champion
Image: Keystone
Which way is it going? A packed program awaits Evenepoel even after the award ceremony
Image: Keystone
Remco Evenepoel in the sandwich with Italians Filippo Ganna (left) and Edoardo Affini
Image: Keystone
Golden on the road: Remco Evenepoel
Image: Keystone
Evenepoel takes time to celebrate after crossing the finish line despite only having a six-second lead
Image: Keystone
A kiss for the world champion
Image: Keystone
Which way is it going? A packed program awaits Evenepoel even after the award ceremony
Image: Keystone
Gold is gold. Soon nobody will be asking about the story behind Remco Evenepoel's victory in the world championship time trial. But a few special moments and snappy remarks from the Belgian will be remembered.
"Luckily I was on top of the podium. Otherwise I wouldn't have fitted in the photo of the medal winners," joked the 1.71 m short Evenepoel at the media conference. He had prevailed against the clock in Zurich late on Sunday afternoon against the two Italians, the 1.93 m tall Filippo Ganna and the 1.92 m tall Edoardo Affini. "I felt like I was in a focaccia sandwich," he replied when asked about his feelings at the medal ceremony.
Evenepoel once again owned the show. However, the Paris Olympic hero first came into the spotlight with two incidents that were out of his own hands. "Fortunately, I've learned to keep calm in situations that are out of my hands," said Evenepoel, describing these moments. "In the end, confidence helped me. I knew my form. That's why I didn't lose my head."
Hectic start phase
In the minutes before the favorite's start, hecticness broke out twice. First, when Evenepoel was already in the saddle, cranked backwards and the untensioned chain fell off the front chainring. The mechanics rushed to the scene, but were unable to fix the mishap straight away and even provided a replacement bike. The problem was only finally solved 25 seconds before the start.
When Evenepoel then left the Oerlikon race track on the golden bike and in the golden helmet of the two-time Olympic champion, the professional had to struggle for composure a second time. The wattmeter was not working and the attendants in the car were initially unable to interpret the rider's hand signals indicating the defect. Evenepoel then had to rely on more information from the support car. This was because he was basically driving by feel and did not know whether he was following his plan or not.
"It was stressful. But in the end, there's only one thing that counts today, and that's victory for me or a medal for others. The way there doesn't matter," summed up the successful defending champion and now two-time time trial world champion. "Okay, I admit: now that I've won, it's easy to stop worrying about the problems at the start. If I had finished second or third, I would probably talk differently. I see it as an amusing story that I can tell my children one day."
Evenepoel categorized the victory in Zurich as "not the most elegant" and the "third highest this year". He weights the two gold medals at the Olympic Games in Paris and the victory in the time trial at the Tour de France, including third place overall, higher. "But ultimately, every victory is important. I always give my best and ride to win. It was another special and beautiful day."
One victory still missing
A rare cycling grand slam is now open to the child prodigy from Belgium that no one has ever achieved: Olympic and world champion in the time trial and road race. Only one rider seems capable of spoiling his quadruple next Sunday: Tadej Pogacar.
SDA