Belgium secured its first Olympic gold medal on Saturday afternoon as Remco Evenepoel delivered on the 32.4km route through central Paris.
Already the World Champion in the discipline, Evenepoel was favourite going into the event, which took place under persistent rain.
Following on from the women's event earlier in the afternoon, conditions didn't improve and many sections had standing water on the tarmac, making for a treacherous course. Belgian hopeful Lotte Kopecky fell short of the podium, ending sixth after falling on the slippery course.
With a world-renowned cycling pedigree, Belgium had pinned many of its medal hopes to the cycling events and had a strong showing with both Evenepoel and Wout Van Aert strong contenders.
Van Aert, who is himself among the best time trialists in the world, was also a potential winner. At the intermediate splits he was consistently ahead of his closest rivals and he managed to cross the line in first place. But he was followed by the Italian Filippo Ganna – a time trial specialist who also holds the world hour record.
After some tense moments where Ganna lost grip on the rear wheel but just managed to stay on the bike, Ganna pipped Van Aert by 10 seconds.
But Ganna hardly had time to take the hot seat (where the fastest rider waits for the rest to complete the course) as he was followed by Evenepoel, who executed a near-perfect performance to beat Ganna by 15 seconds and secure the gold.
Overall podium: Evenepoel gold, Ganna silver, Van Aert bronze.
Evenepoel celebrates after winning the men's time trial, Saturday 27 July 2024 in Paris. Credit: Belga
