Gala moment in Belgium: Evenepoel wins Crystal Bicycle, fifth title in a row for Kopecky

Evenepoel was not present at the gala; he was ill. Nevertheless, Het Laatste Nieuws managed to speak to him. With four titles, the Belgian is now at the same level as Tom Boonen, Phillippe Gilbert, and Greg Van Avermaet. "Ordinary cyclists, hey," Evenepoel jokes. "Those are obviously very nice names to join. And maybe soon, I'll become an absolute record holder." Only Johan Museeuw (five) has won more Crystal Bikes.

With this year's two Olympic titles, the Soudal Quick-Step rider was the clear winner. By now, he can tick off quite a few big races, but he doesn't consider himself a "tick off rider. "I think Tadej has a bit more 'margin' in that respect than I do. He has won more races. Three out of five Monuments, two out of three grand tours... So my gut feeling is that he will combine Tour and Vuelta next year. Just because that Vuelta a España is the only one he lacks."

It was recently announced that the 2030 World Championships will be held in Brussels: a home race for Evenepoel. Some are already hinting at a possible end to his career. "An endpoint? (laughs) Hey, that's already in six years. While I still have double that in mind. If I race until I am 33 or 34, I will have had an 'average long' career. No, 2030 will be too early to stop."

Winner Kopecky was also not present to receive her trophy. She is busy preparing for the World Track Cycling Championships in Denmark. Moreover, she is recovering from a nasty crash in the Simac Ladies Tour (which she did win). "I still feel stiff, too, but I hope there will be enough time to recover by Thursday. I can use all the rest and energy I can get because the Simac Tour has cut into it."

Picking one moment is tough for Kopecky. "But I had been chasing that win in Paris-Roubaix for a long time, and that I could win in the beautiful rainbow jersey completed the picture... After the 2022 season, in which I won Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders for the first time, I thought, "How can I improve even more?" Then there was last year when I won the Ronde van Vlaanderen again and became world champion: "This really can't be better." And this year was even better. Now I can say, 'I can't do better than this next year..." But I will do everything I can to achieve the same level of fitness, which in the end is the only factor in your own hands."

The prize for best Belgian U23 also went to the favorite. Jarno Widar was allowed to receive that prize. The eighteen-year-old climber's wins included the Giro, Next Gen. The award for best domestique, the Crystal Drop of Sweat (Kristallen Zweetdruppel), went to a woman for the first time: Justine Ghekiere received it. The rider from AG Insurance - Soudal, won a stage in the Tour de France Femmes herself but received the award for her work in the Olympics, especially the World Championship. Thanks in part to her efforts, Lotte Kopecky beat the Dutch supremacy.