Last year at the Tokyo Olympics Mens individual time trial, I saw Remco Evenepoel finish his run and take the lead. He was as happy as an elementary school kid who hits a home run to win the little league game. Evenepoel is small, with short upper arms that help him curl into an extremely aerodynamic ball -- more of a compact tuck than any other rider. The combination of formidable power and this balled shape is a winner for TT.
On that day, he put on an ice vest and took the "hot seat" (with more experienced TT specialists such as Filippo Ganna, Rohan Dennis, Tom Dumoulin, WVA, and Primoz Roglic, among others, still to come) ... but he was full of joy and bouncing around, not sitting down. Evenepoel does not have a poker face. In fact, his entire body shows his mood ... innocent, like a kid. And sometimes this year, he has raced like an innocent as well, burning energy to no purpose, though he is learning fast. Watching all this makes it very hard not to cheer for him.
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| A bouncy Remco takes the "hot seat" at the Olympics TT -- barely manages to sit down. Not my finest photo so did not make the cut in my initial report of the event. |
In the end, Evenepoel fell to 9th place in the Olympics TT, far out of medal contention, as Primoz Roglic crushed the course and finished looking as if he was only just then turning on the after burners ... not stopping or even slowing until hundreds of meters beyond the finish line.
Yesterday, at the Vuelta Espana's stage 10 time trial, it was Evenepoel's turn to crush the competition. He ended up 48 seconds ahead of Roglic in an effort of slightly over a half hour. He knew he had won, but did not know by how much until a reporter informed him. The expression on his face says it all. Best watched on the video.
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| Really?! 48 seconds faster than Primoz? Oh my! |
After 10 out of 21 stages, Evenepoel leads the Vuelta by 2:41 over Roglic (who has won the past 3 years ... but may still be recovering from the injuries and fatigue he suffered in the Tour de France), 3:03 over Enric Mas (who just hangs in there but never seems to win), and everyone else who is further back. None of the other general classification riders have looked even once as if they could put him into difficulty. It is now Evenepoel's race to lose. (He will also likely win the "Best Young Rider" white jersey, as a 22 yr old). At this point, I think he will win easily, absent illness, crash, or positive PCR test.
