Belgium's Remco Evenepoel becomes 1st man to sweep Olympic cycling road race, time trial

Remco Evenepoel became the first rider to sweep the Olympic men's road race and time trial on Saturday, relentlessly attacking over three climbs of Montmartre and building such a lead on the run-in to the finish at the Pont d'Iena that the Belgian rider was able to overcome a mechanical problem in the final kilometres.

He raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the bridge of the Seine, then stopped at the finish line to soak in the cheers at the Paris Games.

Valentin Madouas, who tried to keep pace with Evenepoel late in the race, held on for silver while French countryman Christophe Laporte took bronze from a group that included Matteo Jorgensen of the U.S., Ben Healy of Ireland and Marco Haller of Austria.

The two medals for France were its first in the men's Olympic road race in 68 years.

Evenepoel, who won the time trial through the rain a week ago, had more than a minute on his pursuers as he was passing in front of the Louvre. The 24-year-old from Flanders suddenly threw up his arm for help, got off his bike and screamed to his team for the spare. They had it ready, Evenepoel got back aboard with only a few seconds lost, and was on his way.

The win capped a spectacular few weeks for Evenepoel that began with his third-place finish in the Tour de France.

Ottawa's Mike Woods finished 41st with a time of 6:26:57, while Derek Gee of Osgoode, Ont., was 44th in the same time.

The early breakaway of five riders formed quickly Saturday after the neutralized start from the Trocadero, where fans gathered in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower to see them off. With no real threats among them, the peloton was content allowing the break to build a sizeable gap of more than 14 minutes as the riders headed into the French