Cycling Weekly describes “Remco Evenepoel, the 15-year-old footballer and captain of his beloved RSC Anderlecht and Belgian U16 national team.” Then “he was dropped first by the national team and then by Anderlecht. He fumed that he ‘received no explanation’.” He turned to the bike at 17: “On 2 April, 2017 Evenepoel pinned a race number on for the very first time in a small race in Zoutleeuw,” the magazine says, and of his 2018 season, that he “ended it as junior road race and time trial world champion.”
Two crashes followed. “In the 2020 edition, a then 20-year-old Evenepoel … crashed on the descent of the Colma di Sormano. He went over a bridge barrier into a ravine,” TNT Sports recalls of Il Lombardia; the race’s organizer says “he flew off a ravine, leaving the race with a fractured pelvis and a bruised lung.” In April 2024, Eurosport reported, “A frightening incident at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier in April saw Remco Evenepoel break a collarbone and shoulder blade.”
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, “Remco Evenepoel won the men’s individual time trial (ITT) on Saturday,” July 27, “ahead of Filippo Ganna (Italy) and his Belgian countryman Wout van Aert,” the UCI reported; on the “32.4km course,” Ganna was 14 seconds behind him and van Aert 25. “The rain that poured on the opening ceremony and on the women’s ITT also affected the men’s event.”
A week later, on August 3, came “the 273km race,” as AAP called it. “After the second of three ascents up Montmartre, only France’s Madouas managed to stay with the Belgian at the front. He was eventually dropped with 15km to go,” the UCI wrote. Then, “less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the finish,” in CNN’s words, came the puncture: AAP reported that “he suddenly stopped in front of the Louvre, got off his bike and screamed to his team for the spare bike,” and “a flustered mechanic rushed to the scene with a spare bike,” CNN said. “I had to change bike and the car wasn’t ready but I had time enough,” Evenepoel told Discovery+, TNT Sports reported.
“He only lost a few seconds with the bike change,” AAP says, and he crossed the line “more than a minute faster than his nearest rival,” CNN reported, “in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.” “Madouas held on to take the silver medal ahead of team-mate Christophe Laporte, who took bronze from the chase group,” TNT Sports wrote. “The Belgian’s harvest is unprecedented in men’s Olympic road cycling,” the UCI says. “Dutch icon Leontien van Moorsel achieved the double victory in the women’s road race and ITT at the Olympic Games Sydney 2000.” CNN calls him “the first male cyclist to claim gold in both the road race and time trial at the same Olympic Games.” “Crossing the finish line, I realized I just became the double Olympic champion in one week, something I could only dream of,” Evenepoel told CNN.
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- He was alone in front at the Olympics, then his tire went flat. UCI: “He [Madouas] was eventually dropped with 15km to go, leaving the way for Evenepoel’s extraordinary double despite a late scare with a mechanical only 4km from the finish.” CNN: “a rear tire puncture in front of the Louvre, less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the finish.” 13
- His name is Remco Evenepoel. CNN: “Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel made history on Saturday.” 3
- As a teen, he played youth soccer for Belgium. Cycling Weekly: “Remco Evenepoel, the 15-year-old footballer and captain of his beloved RSC Anderlecht and Belgian U16 national team.” 6
- Then Belgium and his club dropped him. Cycling Weekly: “he was dropped first by the national team and then by Anderlecht. He fumed that he ‘received no explanation’.” 6
- At 17, he entered his first bike race. Cycling Weekly: “On 2 April, 2017 Evenepoel pinned a race number on for the very first time in a small race in Zoutleeuw”; “On the day he turned 17 … that January 2017 post.” 6
- The next year, he became junior world champion. Cycling Weekly, on his 2018 season: he “ended it as junior road race and time trial world champion.” 6
- In 2020, he crashed off a bridge into a ravine. TNT Sports: “In the 2020 edition, a then 20-year-old Evenepoel … crashed on the descent of the Colma di Sormano. He went over a bridge barrier into a ravine … and suffered a fractured pelvis and lung contusion.” Il Lombardia: “he flew off a ravine, leaving the race with a fractured pelvis and a bruised lung.” 87
- In April 2024, another crash broke his collarbone. Eurosport: “A frightening incident at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier in April saw Remco Evenepoel break a collarbone and shoulder blade.” 9
- By July, he was Olympic time trial champion. UCI: “Remco Evenepoel won the men’s individual time trial (ITT) on Saturday, ahead of Filippo Ganna (Italy) and his Belgian countryman Wout van Aert”; “The rain that poured on the opening ceremony and on the women’s ITT also affected the men’s event.” 2
- A week later came the road race. UCI: “winning the road race of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Saturday, a week after he dominated the individual time trial (ITT).” CNN (August 4, 2024): “made history on Saturday.” TNT Sports’ report is dated August 3, 2024. 134
- With 15 kilometers left, he dropped his last rival. UCI: “After the second of three ascents up Montmartre, only France’s Madouas managed to stay with the Belgian at the front. He was eventually dropped with 15km to go.” CNN: “He dropped France’s Valentin Madouas, the eventual silver medalist and local favorite, with 15 kilometers (9 miles) to go.” 13
- Then, less than 4 kilometers from the finish, his tire went flat. CNN: “less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the finish.” UCI: “flatting 4km from the finish.” 31
- He jumped off, screaming for his spare bike. AAP: “he suddenly stopped in front of the Louvre, got off his bike and screamed to his team for the spare bike.” CNN: “a flustered mechanic rushed to the scene with a spare bike.” 53
- “The car wasn’t ready,” he said. Evenepoel, to Discovery+, as TNT Sports quotes him: “I had to change bike and the car wasn’t ready but I had time enough.” AAP: “I think the car wasn’t ready for that moment … in the end, I had enough time.” 45
- He still won by more than a minute. CNN: “Crossing the finish line more than a minute faster than his nearest rival, Evenepoel had time to savor his victory, dismounting and celebrating with arms outstretched in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.” AAP: “He only lost a few seconds with the bike change.” 35
- No man had ever won both Olympic road events at one Games. UCI: “The Belgian’s harvest is unprecedented in men’s Olympic road cycling. Dutch icon Leontien van Moorsel achieved the double victory in the women’s road race and ITT at the Olympic Games Sydney 2000.” CNN: “becoming the first male cyclist to claim gold in both the road race and time trial at the same Olympic Games.” AAP: “He is the first rider to win the two men’s road events at an Olympics.” 135
- “Something I could only dream of,” he said. Evenepoel, to CNN: “Crossing the finish line, I realized I just became the double Olympic champion in one week, something I could only dream of.” 3
Sources
- Olympic Games Paris 2024: Evenepoel’s extraordinary double triumph UCI
- Olympic Games Paris 2024: Evenepoel takes a new ITT crown UCI
- Remco Evenepoel creates a moment he ‘could only dream of’ with thrilling Olympic cycling double (Rosanne Roobeek, August 4, 2024) CNN, on KVIA
- Remco Evenepoel survives late drama to become first man to ever do Olympic road cycling double with road race win (August 3, 2024) TNT Sports
- On the double, Evenepoel survives late scare for gold Australian Associated Press
- Remco Evenepoel’s journey from football prodigy to cycling World Champion (Chris Marshall-Bell, January 27, 2023) Cycling Weekly
- Evenepoel: unfinished business with Il Lombardia Il Lombardia (RCS Sport)
- Remco Evenepoel celebrates Il Lombardia second place four years after horror crash (October 2024) TNT Sports
- Report on Remco Evenepoel’s crash at the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country (April 2024) Eurosport
Notes
The crash year: the bridge crash was at Il Lombardia in 2020, not 2019 (TNT Sports: “In the 2020 edition”). The Short says 2020.
The distance: the UCI and TNT Sports round it to “4km”; CNN says “less than 4 kilometers”; other accounts give 3.8 km, for which we found no primary source. The Short says “less than four kilometers.”
Which tire: CNN says it was the rear; TNT Sports calls it “a front puncture.” The Short says only that his tire went flat.
The finish: TNT Sports says he “stopped and raised his bike in the air”; AAP says he “raised his arms in the air with his bike in front of him” and made a “slam down the phone” gesture; CNN says “dismounting and celebrating with arms outstretched.” The Short doesn’t describe it.
His age: TNT Sports calls him “the 25-year-old”; he was 24 (CNN: “At just 24”). The Short doesn’t give it.
Soccer: the Short says “soccer” for American viewers; Cycling Weekly says “footballer” and “Belgian U16 national team.”
Remco Evenepoel is alive. Only race results, reporting by the UCI, the race organizer and major outlets, his own published words and the injuries they reported from his two crashes are used, briefly; nothing about his private life. Valentin Madouas, Christophe Laporte, Filippo Ganna and Wout van Aert are named only for their results; Stefan Küng and Mads Pedersen only in the captions.
Pictures: no free photo shows the puncture, the bike change or the finish; every picture of those moments we found is agency, broadcast or Olympic-media work, so none is used. Remco Evenepoel is in the Olympic road race itself on August 3, 2024, in four spectators’ photos: leading France’s Valentin Madouas on Rue Saint-Éleuthère in Montmartre (Chabe01), in the peloton on the Côte de Bièvres with Denmark’s Mads Pedersen (Rz98), on Rue de Belleville with Switzerland’s Stefan Küng (FreCha), and in the two-man break with Madouas on Avenue Jean-Jaurès, before Madouas was dropped (Daieuxetdailleurs). He is in the Olympic time trial on July 27, 2024, in the rain (Rz98) and at Bastille (UrsusArctosArctos). He is also at the junior World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, winning the time trial on September 25, 2018 (not his first race, which was in April 2017), and lifting his bike over his head and biting his gold medal after the road race on September 27, 2018 (Granada); at the Itzulia Basque Country rider presentation on April 3, 2024, the day before his crash (Hugo LUC); as Olympic champion in a gold helmet at the Tour of Britain in Newark-on-Trent on September 8, 2024 (Geof Sheppard); and at the medal ceremony of the 2024 World Championships time trial in Zurich on September 22, 2024, with a world championship medal, not an Olympic one (Albinfo). RSC Anderlecht’s Constant Vanden Stock stadium is seen during a night match, and its name sign at night, on February 13, 2008, without Evenepoel (V4nco, public domain); the Muro di Sormano road on April 20, 2019, not the crash site (Mario Cerchiai); the Louvre’s Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel on June 25, 2013, with no race (AdrianCBanu); spare bikes on a team car at the 2009 Tour de France, not his (Cjp24); and the Eiffel Tower with the Olympic rings on July 6, 2024, before the race (Ibex73).
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Mendelssohn, The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave), Overture, Op. 26 (Musopen Symphony Orchestra, public domain); Mussorgsky, Night on Bald Mountain (1886 version) (Musopen, public domain); Brahms, Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68: IV. Adagio - Piu andante - Allegro non troppo, ma con brio (Musopen Symphony Orchestra, CC0).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
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