It is a picture that can outlive his lifetime. When Remco Evenepoel crossed the end line of the Paris Olympics highway race, having soloed alone to victory, he threw his leg over his bike and stood in the course of the road. Behind him, the Eiffel Tower loomed, bronze-coloured and adorned with the 5 Olympic rings.
The second was iconic, befitting the piece of historical past it marked. The Belgian’s win made him the primary man ever to finish the double on the Olympics, profitable each the time trial and the highway race. Evenepoel himself understood the importance. He stretched his arms huge in celebration, earlier than lifting his left hand to his ear in a phone gesture, and slamming it in the direction of the cobbled ground.
It is a salute the 24-year-old has executed since February, when he took his first victory of the season on the Figueira Champions Traditional. However what does it imply?
“It is actually known as ‘dialled in’,” Evenepoel defined in his post-race press convention. “I used to be simply settled to try to do my finest within the final week. I feel it is one thing contemporary, one thing new. I am not the primary one to do it, in fact, it is from a tennis participant. However I hope you loved it.”
The tennis participant in query is American Ben Shelton, who started doing the gesture in 2023 to indicate he was ‘dialled in’ and able to compete. Nonetheless, there was one other American athlete Evenepoel likened himself to in Paris, as he sat with two gold medals laid on the desk in entrance of him.
“I bear in mind the picture of Michael Phelps prior to now, with all his medals round his neck, and now I really feel a bit like him,” the Belgian smiled. “The thought of [posing with both of] the medals was not mine, however my spouse’s thought, as a result of I left [my time trial gold medal] in Belgium.
“This morning she texted me that she introduced the medal together with her, simply in case, and fortuitously she did, as a result of now I’ve a reasonably distinctive image for my Instagram.”
There was one thing distinctive, too, in regards to the bike Evenepoel posed with after the end line. After struggling a rear wheel puncture with 3km to go, he carried out a panicked bike change, one which had him clapping his arms furiously at his mechanic to hurry up.
Evenepoel crossed the on a plain black spare bike, quite than one specifically painted for the Video games by bike model Specialised.
“I used to be simply unfortunate to hit a cobble with my again wheel, and the tyre was straightaway flat so I needed to change it,” he mentioned. “I feel [the bike change] was as clean as potential. It was perhaps an additional spice on the victory,
“Earlier than the incident, the motorcycle was proper subsequent to me and confirmed me an indication with 25 seconds of benefit. I feel that was incorrect, and that is why I used to be a bit burdened. I used to be anticipating Valentin [Madouas] and the group behind to move me straightaway.”
In actuality, Evenepoel’s benefit stood at round a minute, a buffer that gave him an empty highway, and a possibility to savour his achievement. What it gave the game was a long-lasting picture, a second that will probably be talked about for generations to come back.
