Irresistible, the young Belgian prodigy Remco Evenepoel became world champion on Sunday in Wollongong (Australia) after a solo raid of more than thirty kilometers, ahead of the Frenchman Christophe Laporte. The 22-year-old Flemish offers his country its first world title in ten years after already becoming, two weeks ago at the Vuelta, the first Belgian to win a Grand Tour since 1978.
He won alone with 2 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of the first peloton regulated by Christophe Laporte, after 266.9 km of a race contested under a bright sun.
“I’m super happy. I dreamed of being world champion. A monument, a classic, a Grand Tour, the World Cup…: I won everything this year, it’s incredible”reacted the one who also won Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the spring and the Classica San Sebastian this summer.
The Belgian succeeds Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe, his teammate at Quick-Step for the year, who had won the last two editions but could not join the fight for the top places this time. “For me, it’s a mix of lots of emotions. I had taken the time to imagine myself without a swimsuit next week. It will make me appreciate the moments I had with this shirt even more.”commented “Alaf”, who warmly congratulated his successor – “the strongest today” – on arrival.
The race was also marked by the early abandonment of Mathieu van der Poel, one of the great favorites but who had no strength left after about thirty kilometers after being arrested by the police and passing part of the night at the police station. He is accused of having pushed two teenage girls who prevented him from sleeping, in the hallway of his hotel room. Taken to the police station and charged with two cases of “assault”, he is due to appear in an Australian court on Tuesday.