Evenepoel achieve unprecedented double at Paris Olympics

A week after topping the time trial, Remco Evenepoel won the long-distance race in Paris yesterday. The Belgian is the first cyclist in history to win both road races at the same Olympic Games, an event in which Portugal’s Nelson Oliveira and Rui Costa finished 33rd and 46th respectively out of 90 entrants (13 withdrew).

The longest ever race (273 kilometres), lasting over six hours, started hot and only really got going with 46 kilometres to go, already on the final course in the French capital. Mathieu van der Poel, one of the favourites to win, attacked on the first of three passes of the Montmartre hill, a 1.1 kilometre climb with an average gradient of 6.5%. The Dutchman took the wheel of rival Wout van Aert and, with his compatriot ahead, Remco was left to wait. But with 38 kilometres to go, the Belgian attacked, overtook the other two candidates and caught Ben Healy, who was still isolated at the front. With 15 kilometres to go, he had “gotten rid” of his only companion, the Frenchman Valentin Madois, who won silver, until he suffered a puncture 3.8 kilometres from the finish. He was still scared, he tried to take another bike, he pointed at the TV camera asking for the time for second place, and even so he won with one minute and 11 seconds to spare.
Rui Costa was less fortunate. When he was in the group that was aiming for a place on the podium, he broke 34 km from the finish. “I am disappointed, it was a decisive moment, but life goes on,” the Portuguese lamented. “Things did not go as we wanted. But at the last Games we left with our heads held high,” added Nelson Oliveira.