🔥🇫🇷 | DIT VERZIN JE NIET. Remco Evenpoel rijdt lek! Zijn voorsprong is groot genoeg om voorop te blijven, maar de paniek is van het gezicht af te lezen 🤯🤯 #Paris2024 📺 Stream Paris 2024 op HBO Max
Head coach and mechanic explain why Evenepoel's flat tire shouldn't have happened a minute earlier
CyclingSaturday, 03 August 2024 at 23:56
Remco Evenepoel became Olympic champion on Saturday, but in the final moments, things nearly went wrong for the untouchable Belgian. He had a flat tire, had to get off his bike, and screamed his lungs out in search of a new bike. It arrived just in time.
It was reminiscent of the scenario at the World Championships in Glasgow, when Mathieu van der Poel had broken away and seemed on his way to reeling in the rainbow jersey without any problems. Until he suddenly slipped in a corner, causing the hearts of all his fans to leap into their throats. This was undoubtedly the case for team Evenepoel as well when Remco suddenly got off his bike in the last four kilometers. He seemed calm, but when the new bike took longer than he had hoped, he began to shout. "I hit a cobblestone and instantly went flat. Fortunately, the car was right behind me. At that moment, I got a bit nervous, especially because there were signs indicating I only had a 25-second lead. The situation wasn't really clear to me," the winner was able to laugh about the matter afterward.
A new bike arrived, mainly because Evenepoel had already pulled more than a minute ahead of his first chaser, meaning the Belgian car was behind him. Zooming out, Evenepoel knew he had gotten away very well, knowing that the car would have been behind the chasers if the lead had been smaller. Head coach Sven Vanthourenhout admitted to Sporza that it wasn’t easy to still be there with the car. "I was initially just glad we were there. It was super hectic to be there with the car. We had to race within the race to get there. I wanted to immediately reassure him by driving next to him and communicating his lead. Actually, the jury didn’t allow that, so maybe it will still cost me a fine."
Read more below the video.
Belgian car just in time
Mechanic Kurt Roose confirmed the hectic situation in an interview with HLN. He was the man who gave Evenepoel a new bike. "When Remco rode away alone, we had to fight against the commissioners to negotiate getting to the front. The Italian woman who had to give us her approval was strict. We had to ask three times to drive to the front, even when Remco already had a one-minute lead, she wouldn’t relent. When she finally gave the go-ahead, there was only one point on the course where it wasn’t too narrow to pass the chasing riders. Suddenly, we saw Remco standing on the left side of the road. Before I fully realized it, Sven said two words: 'Kurt, bike.' I knew exactly what to do. I’ve installed a wheel in a precarious moment before, and Remco's bike was also the first on top of the car."
"This is something that will be shown in some documentary in twenty, thirty or forty years," Vanthourenhout further commented on Evenepoel's unique gold, as he became the first rider ever to win both the time trial and road race at the Olympics. "I am so proud of the entire team. Most of the plan was followed, although we won't deny that the group with Madouas and Healy was a threat. But the guys handled it perfectly, the execution was perfect. We knew where Remco would go. In the meeting yesterday, we agreed on who should go where, everyone knew their assignment."
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Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024