The Belgian became the youngest rider to win the rainbow jersey in the discipline.
Remco Evenepoel added another major victory to his already outstanding palmares at the end of Friday’s 47.8km individual time trial in Sterling, where he produced a flawless ride on his way to being crowned World Champion. The win meant that the 23-year-old rider of Soudal Quick-Step, who earlier this season became National Champion on the road, will now wear a distinctive jersey in all the races he will do in the next ten months.
The third-to-last rider to roll down the ramp, Remco had a solid start, which put him in second position as he rode through the first checkpoint, before gradually ramping up the pace in the last 30 kilometers. This allowed the Belgian to improve Filippo Ganna’s time at the next two splits while catching his minute-man in the process, and begin the cobbled climb to the finish with a consistent advantage over the Italian.
Evenepoel tamed the steep gradients of that short ascent in Sterling with remarkable ease and stopped the clock in 55:19, having averaged 51.84km/h over the longest course seen at the Worlds in the last four years. The victory meant that he became Belgium’s first rider to win the gold medal in the men’s individual time trial and only the second rider in history to have won in his career the prestigious rainbow jersey in both races, road and ITT.
“This is an unbelievable moment. The Worlds time trial was one of my biggest goals of the season, and to pull it off on a route that wasn’t really tailored to me is just fantastic. I knew I was the fastest at the second split and with the up-and-down part of the course that suited me still to come, I was quite confident I could take the victory, especially as I had great legs today.”
“I felt perfect the entire race and even managed to ride faster than I had planned at the start. The final hill was a tough one, but I paced myself well there, and now I am incredibly proud with this result and with this beautiful jersey that I will wear for the next twelve months”, said Remco after becoming the third different rider in the history of Soudal Quick-Step to win the individual time trial title at the World Championships.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
