Evenepoel victorious despite chain problems at start: "Toughest time trial of my life"

Evenepoel cannot yet comprehend that he may call himself world and Olympic champion. "It's unbelievable. It took me a while again to feel good and to find the good form, but I was ready in time," he said in the flash interview. "It was a tough day, and my chain fell off a minute before the start. After that, I didn't have a power meter, so it was a time trial on instinct."  

So, thanks to missing his power meter, the 24-year-old Soudal Quick-Step rider had to guess a bit. "It was hard for me in the last two, three kilometers. I went full-on the last bit uphill and on the descent. Keeping my pace without the power meter was hard, but that is less important in a time trial championship. I saw my time in the green so I could celebrate."

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And he did: Evenepoel could cheer even before the finish. "It's rare. As I said, I felt good at the start but weaker in the middle of the climb. After the descent, I felt some oxygen in my legs again. It was hard because I had to push, but I didn't know exactly what I was doing. It might be the toughest time trial of my life. If you want to win, you have to listen to your body. Things can happen; I won in the end." Although competitor Filippo Ganna came dangerously close to Evenepoel with a solid final stretch, the defending champion eventually held on for six seconds.