Remco Evenepoel of Belgium rode to a gold medal on Saturday in the men’s Olympic Time Trial, covering the 32.4km distance in a time of 36:12″. Taking the silver medal 15 seconds behind Evenepoel was Italian Filippo Ganna, while Wout van Aert of Belgium rounded out the podium and took the bronze, 25 seconds off Evenepoel’s winning pace.
Evenepoel was pleased to have added an Olympic gold to his long list of victories. “This is very special. It is truly unique. First the Tour and then this on top of it. Where I won it? No idea. I actually had the feeling from the start that I was really bad on the road. Believe it or not, I really can’t complain. At an intermediate point five kilometres from the finish I was far ahead. So they told me from the car not to take any more crazy risks in the bends. Here in the final straight I tried to enjoy it a bit. They told me then that I had won. I tried to ride the same pace all the time, without really taking any risks in the bends. I did take them quite well. Fortunately my legs were good.”
Evenepoel now has time trial time trial titles at the nationals, Worlds, and Olympics. “It is the end of the series of time trial championships. I have now ticked off everything. Very special, this is a nice cherry on a very nice time trial cake.”
Filippo Ganna was pleased to have performed so well in the rain. “We did the reconnaissance in very good weather. It was dry and quite warm. Now the conditions are completely different. Maybe it would have been better to do another reconnaissance at high speed in wet conditions this morning, but in the end everyone had to ride the same ride. I’m very happy because I’m not very good in the rain. But I tried to follow my dream and keep the right pace. I’m happy with my performance today. I have to thank the staff because since the beginning of the season they’ve been helping me to get this result. I also have to thank my coach because he’s the one who believes in me. Coming second hurts a bit, but tonight we’re going to celebrate.”
For Wout van Aert, the bronze medal confirmed that he is still capable of competing at the top level in time trials. “This medal means a lot to me. It is not only because of the heavy fall in the spring that it is very special for me to win a major prize here again. The Olympics are the biggest event for athletes. For cyclists it’s maybe a little undervalued because it’s part of the season. When you’re here, you realize that it’s a lot bigger than all the other competitions. I’m proud to win another medal. “The last two seasons it felt like it was getting harder and harder to compete with those real specialists in the time trials. Like the gap had gotten bigger. It’s great to be back among the very best.”
Van Aert felt that the two disc wheels and his preparation made the difference in the end. “I had hoped that I could work on the details of the time trial bike towards the Games. Precisely because I always have too many goals to focus on, I have never been able to focus specifically on the time trial for a month before a major tournament. The Tour came in between because of the crash and I have not been able to work enough on the time trial now either. The new bike is super fast and with the two closed wheels alone we tested in the winter that I can gain 17 watts. The fact that I am still in with this limited training gives me a lot of confidence.”
RESULTS
Olympic Games Individual Time Trial (32.4km)
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
