Remco Evenepoel was the greatest world champion ever (and could become an even better one)

It happened in October of 2018. He finished more than a minute and a half ahead of the runner-up, at the Cycling World Championships for juniors on the road. It was the first rainbow jersey for the Belgian prodigy, who had given up football and proven to be much better at cycling. He hardly wore it because the season after Remco Evenepoel became world champion among the juniors, he was already stealing the show in the elite category. For a while, there were doubts about his progress. Now we know better. This coming Sunday, Evenepoel is the defending champion at the World Championships for pros. And, as often happens, he tops the list of favorites.

The Belgian was, in retrospect, the greatest world champion ever. It started on the day of the victory itself. His win at the last World Championships in Wollongong was impressive. After Evenepoel had cleverly nestled himself in the breakaway group, he made dropping the rest of the competitors seem like a simple task. Belgium had another world champion. He was only 22 years old and had just won the Vuelta. Things couldn't get any better. The Cannibal of Schepdaal could start the winter without any regrets. There was a long period of uncertainty about his goals in the new year. Eventually, his major goal was the Giro.

It's a well-known phenomenon in cycling: the curse of the rainbow jersey. In recent decades, this has very often proven true. Riders wearing the world champion's jersey often tragically crashed in major races or failed to make an impact. Think of Cadel Evans' swan song during the 2010 Tour. Or Julian Alaphilippe's dramatic fall in the rainbow jersey in the 2020 Tour of Flanders. Becoming world champion means riding the biggest races in the spotlight. The rainbow jersey often leads to excessive expectations and an inexplicable amount of bad luck and adversity.

None of this seemed to have an effect on Remco Evenepoel. The very young Wollongong world champion scored many victories early in the spring, in the Emirates and in Catalonia. He casually defended his title in Liège-Bastogne-Liège with yet another beautiful solo ride. He became Belgian road champion and also won a stage in Switzerland. In 43 racing days, he finished on the podium an astonishing twenty times. Impressive numbers that made his already impressive rainbow jersey conquest shine even brighter - and that should statistically make him one of the best rainbow jersey riders ever. And then, to think that his main goal fell through due to circumstances. That could have been the cherry on top of his already very impressive streak.

Should the so-called curse of the world champion hold any truth, it seemingly struck Remco Evenepoel on the ninth day of the Giro. From the get-go, Evenepoel came out with all guns blazing, snatching the pink jersey with a blazing time trial performance on the first day and also winning the second time trial. A day earlier, he had shown some weakness on the hills around Fossombrone compared to his biggest rivals for the overall victory: the INEOS Grenadiers block and Jumbo-Visma leader Primoz Roglic. In retrospect, given that he was likely already battling the onset of his later disclosed COVID-19 infection, it seems nothing short of a miracle that Evenepoel was able to keep the damage to a minimum, let alone secure the time trial victory the subsequent day.

Without Evenepoel, who announced before the rest day that he was leaving the tour because of his COVID-19 infection, the Giro became an occasionally uninteresting game of chess. Geraint Thomas and Roglic kept an eye on each other until the last time trial on the grueling Monte Lussari. The what-if question doesn't make a difference, of course, but it does linger after the 106th Giro. Could a fit Evenepoel, with already two time trial victories to his name and a nice lead over his rivals, have easily won the Giro? Could he have ended the road to Rome with a second grand tour victory? The answer is probably yes - for what it's worth. It would have made his year in the rainbow jersey a complete success.

But let's go back in time for a moment. To September of 2022. He finished over two minutes ahead of the second rider. This was an astounding lead for a solo cyclist over a peloton, achieved in a mere twenty kilometers. His reign in the rainbow jersey was relatively short-lived, as the next World Championships were set to take place not in October, but in August. Evenepoel pedaled his way to an impressive number of victories in the races that he competed in. His withdrawal from the Giro, in hindsight, leaves a sour taste. But even without a happy ending in Italy, Evenepoel is perhaps the most dazzling and greatest world champion ever.

A world champion who immediately took the spotlight and always rode like a dominant rider. A petite general who, in a brazen way, positioned himself at the center of many races. He broke away whenever he pleased, blowing the competition away when it suited him. This typified Remco Evenepoel's past year in the rainbow jersey. A jersey that fit him like a glove, paired with white racing shorts. Who else wears white racing shorts? Only those who disregard the norm. He shrugged off the supposed curse of the jersey. Evenepoel was no ordinary world champion, but a daring go-getter who found even more motivation in the rainbow jersey.

Perhaps he can succeed himself in Glasgow, in the event of another super performance. It will be a tough competition in the Belgian selection. On paper, Wout van Aert - being a versatile rider - seems the most likely man to win the world title. But Jasper Philipsen also vies for a leading role. Judging by his four stage victories in the Tour, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider is in top form this summer. But perhaps Evenepoel is the key to success for the Belgians. The rest of the pack's control over sprinters Van Aert and Philipsen will be intense. It makes Evenepoel the perfect distraction on the tricky course in Scotland. From a breakaway, the Soudal-Quick-Step rider might well be the top favorite to once again win the World Championships in Glasgow on Sunday. He is strong enough for such a scenario, as he proved last year.

Perhaps, after a new World Championship success, he can then exchange the rainbow colors for red or pink. Or, who knows, maybe even for yellow. After Sunday, we'll know whether the best world champion ever can outdo himself.