World Championship: Remco Evenepoel powers to gold after Van der Poel’s arrest

Four years ago, at the 2018 Road World Championships in Innsbruck, a young Belgian cyclist named Remco Evenepoel announced himself to the cycling world with a remarkable solo victory in the junior road race. Having already won the junior time trial earlier that week, the 18-year-old attacked with 20km of tough Austrian terrain remaining. Evenepoel put his head down, went into time trial mode and comfortably paced himself to the rainbow jersey. The plaudits came quickly: had Belgium found the next Eddy Merckx?

On Sunday, Evenepoel repeated himself on an even grander stage. With barely 30km to go in the elite men’s road race at the 2022 World Championships, at the tail-end of a gruelling 266.9km course, Evenepoel and Kazakhstan’s Alexey Lutsenko went off the front of a strong lead group. A few kilometres later, on the penultimate ascent of the short but steep Mount Pleasant climb, Evenepoel attacked solo once more.

Having won the bronze medal in the time trial last Sunday, the Deceuninck–Quick-Step rider, now 22, put his head down and time trialled towards the beachside finish. There would be no catching Evenepoel. A new world champion was crowned in glorious sunshine, cheered on by a boisterous local crowd.

Evenepoel’s first rainbow jersey at senior level caps a remarkable season, having already won the Vuelta a España red jersey and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. It was vindication, too, after Belgian tactics cost Evenepoel a chance of rainbows at last year’s world titles. And it will add more fuel to the comparisons with the legendary Merckx, perhaps the greatest cyclist of all time.

“It’s incredible, the things I achieved this year,” Evenepoel said. “A season cannot be better – to win a monument, a rainbow jersey and a grand