Remco Evenepoel wins Road and Time Trial Gold Medals at the Olympics
Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel claimed gold in the men’s road race in dramatic fashion at the Olympics on Saturday to become the first male rider to achieve the double after also winning the time trial
The 2022 world champion became the first man to win both road cycling events at the same Games.
Remco Evenepoel destroyed the peloton and rode to victory in the men’s cycling road race, claiming the gold medal in the heart of Paris at the Trocadero last weekend.
It was a moment worthy of being hung in the Louvre, as the 24-year-old Belgian cyclist free-wheeled across the finish line, arms outstretched in front of the Eiffel Tower, embracing his historic achievement of becoming the first male cyclist to win the road race and time trial at the same edition of the Olympic Games.
“I achieved everything I wanted to achieve this month: Tour de France]and double gold is... my season, I cannot describe it,” said cycling’s newest Olympic champion.
Evenepoel, 24, attacked from the peloton and bridged across to the front group inside the final 40km.
He then set a punishing pace with the last rider, France's Valentin Madouas, dropping off his wheel on the penultimate climb with 15km to go.
Evenepoel suffered a mechanical less than four kilometres from the finish, on the Carousel du Louvre, raising his arm for assistance before clapping and waving at his team to deliver a new bike in a scene of sheer panic.
The change was made swiftly, however, and he powered to the line after he had made the decisive move 15km from the finish, in the run-in to the second of three punishing ascents of the Butte Montmartre.
His brutal attack left Valentin Madouas, who was hovering 1:15 behind when Evenepoel’s incident occurred, gasping for air but the Frenchman hung on to take silver after 273km, with France also taking bronze through Christophe Laporte.
Evenepoel raised his arm again in the final kilometre but this time it was a pre-celebration before stepping off his bike as he crossed the line for a photo with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
For the United States, Jorgenson finished in a crowded group right behind Laporte for 9th overall.
After the race, Jorgenson had an honest assessment of his race, "(I had) good legs, put myself in positions to win the race, and in the end I got tactically outplayed. There were teams like France and Belgium with more numbers," alluding to teams who had four riders in the race — a tactical advantage in the road race.
Other U.S. riders Brandon McNulty finished 24th while Magnus Sheffield finished 42nd in his first Olympics.
VIDEO: 2024 Olympic Men's Road Race Highlights
2024 Olympic Men's Road Race Top 10
1- Remco Evenepoel (Bel) 6hrs 19mins 34secs
2- Valentin Madouas (Fre) +1min 11secs
3- Christophe Laporte (Fre) +1min 16secs
4- Attila Valter (Hun) Same time
5- Toms Skujins (Lat)
6- Marco Haller (Aut)
7- Stefan Kung (Sui)
8- Jan Tratnik (Slo)
9- Matteo Jorgenson (USA)
10 Ben Healy (Irl) +1min 20secs
2024 Olympic Men's Time Trial
Remco Evenepoel of Belgium appeared unphased by the conditions, racing to the gold medal in the men’s cycling individual time trials with a time of 36:12.16. Filippo Ganna of Italy had a strong performance of his own, taking home the silver with a time of 36:27.08 while Wout Van Aert of Belgium grabbed the bronze with a time of 36:37.79.
“I have so many emotions going through my body right now,” said Evenepoel. “It’s one of the most beautiful moments of my life.”
“I had some bad luck with the puncture, obviously. It hurts a bit when there's not a lot you can do with it — it happens,” Tarling said. “There's not a lot I could do. I felt the front wheel get spongy, and then I felt the rim, and I was like, 'Oh, I've got to change the bike as quick as I can before the corner and try and just settle back down.' But it was hard to get back in the rhythm.”
Brandon McNulty of the United States also had a strong showing, finishing fifth with a time of 37:16.60. The rain’s impact was felt throughout the event with two riders, Lucas Plapp of Australia and Soeren Wærenskjold of Norway, unable to complete the race. Several riders suffered falls and many others had close encounters.
VIDEO: 2024 Olympic Men's Time Trial Highlights
2024 Olympic Men's Time Trial Top 10
1. Remco Evenepoel (bel) 36.12
2. Filippo Ganna (ita) + 0.15
3. Wout van Aert (bel) + 0.25
4. Joshua Tarling (gbr) + 0.27
5. Brandon McNulty (usa) + 1.04
6. Stefan Bissegger (swi) + 1.26
7. Nelson Oliveira (por) + 1.31
8. Stefan Küng (swi) + 1.35
9. Maximilian Schachmann (ger) + 1.38
10. Mikkel Bjerg (den) + 1.43
