Remco Evenepoel has made cycling history. At just 23, he is the only cyclist to have won gold in both the time trial and road race at the same Olympic Games. He lifted his bike at the finish line. He raised his arms to bask in the applause beneath the Eiffel Tower. He rode like a champion and showed no signs of slowing down. He withstood the attacks of Mathieu van der Poel, the favourite, and when he launched his own move, no one could keep up. Only Madouas was able to stay with him for a while before going solo with 16km to go.

Madouas crossed the line a minute down, while fellow Frenchman Laporte crossed the line with the reduced group of favourites. The French took silver and bronze. It was a perfect podium for the Belgians. Remarkably, Evenepoel overcame a front wheel puncture while riding solo with just 3km to go. In a nervous moment, he changed bikes and carried on - a perfectly executed move.

Madouas felt the strain in his legs after Evenepoel had broken the clock in the time trial on 26 July amid rain and complaints about the course. He was the best. He was ahead of experienced specialists like Filippo Ganna. A week later he pulverised the peloton again.
The 273-kilometre road race course featured some tricky sections and tight corners where positioning and strategy were crucial. Evenepoel created chaos and he capitalised on it. 

With more than 70 kilometres to go, he began to move and caused the first splits in the peloton. It could have been an attempt to help his Belgian teammate Van Aert. Van Aert had also won bronze in the time trial. It could have been a team strategy, but Evenepoel's legs were pure gold.

Van der Poel attacked on the first of three climbs to Montmartre (1km with a 6.5% gradient) with 48km to go. Everyone felt the sting of the steep ramps and the Dutchman's effort. Van Aert closed the gap and sealed it. Van der Poel attacked again. The Frenchman Valentin Madouas, who would later take silver, was strong and present.

When Van der Poel had exhausted everyone, Evenepoel made his move. This is the mark of a great cyclist - to attack when the legs are sore in order to do the most damage. Madouas was suffering badly. But he held on, although it seemed only for a short time. There was no agreement behind him and the gap grew. The Frenchman also had Julian Alaphilippe as a potential contender for the sprint, but everyone knew that Evenepoel was unbeatable on his own. He left Madouas with 265km to go. Evenepoel seemed unaffected.

With 3 kilometres to go there was a scare. He had a puncture and had to change his wheel, but nothing could stop him. He was seen urging the assistant to give him a spare bike. He even had the luxury of a look into the camera and a fist pump. An impressive display from this young talent who is capable of winning anything.

He was the main protagonist and gave the perfect amount of space to the two local heroes who joined him on the podium: Madouas with the silver medal and Christophe Laporte with the bronze. The race covered 273 kilometres on a route that felt like a museum. It took in landmarks such as the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, the Palais Garnier, the Place de la Bastille, the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe. Many of these sites were not visited during his Tour de France debut a few weeks ago. 

He did not finish the French stage in Paris because of the Olympic Games. Evenepoel must have thought that if he could not finish in Paris during the Tour, he would conquer the capital in another way - and he did so in grand style.

Remco won on a course similar to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, one he is very familiar with. The Belgian race is even tougher. It is twice as steep as the Paris course, with 13 climbs and 2,800 metres of altitude. Evenepoel finished the Tour just days before the time trial in Paris, where he finished third behind stage specialists Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar, who were both absent in Paris.

This golden generation wins everything. At just 25 years of age, their triumphs are undeniable. Evenepoel, 24, has already won 58 professional races. In the women's category, only Van Morsel (Sydney 2000) has achieved what the Belgian has done by winning two Olympic gold medals. Evenepoel is also a world champion in both the time trial and the road race. He has it all. He also won the Vuelta a España, proving his ability to win 21-day races.

What is truly amazing is that he has achieved this in just two years. Lazkano finished 35th, a far cry from the Evenepoel phenomenon. His decision to leave football for cycling proved to be the right one. He was a good footballer. But what he has achieved as a cyclist is unimaginable. He made his professional debut as a near junior, won the Clásica de San Sebastián with a spectacular performance and has gone on to win almost everything. 

A crash in the 2020 Giro di Lombardia, where he fell off a bridge, was shocking. He was almost killed or suffered injuries serious enough to put his cycling career in doubt. But his return was a remarkable one. His performance as a junior at the world championships spoke volumes. He crashed and lost more than two minutes, but came back to win. Another spectacular performance.

Evenepoel appeared with 70 kilometres to go. The race was 273 kilometres, a throwback to the cycling of the previous century. It was probably the longest Olympic race ever to be held in Paris. The protagonists were Africans: a Rwandan, a Mauritanian, a Ugandan and a Moroccan, for the first 200 kilometres, which seemed to exhaust the legs and destroy most cyclists. It could have been the 10,000 metres final in the Olympic stadium on Friday, but it wasn't athletics - it was cycling. The failed breakaway also included a Thai rider. Cycling is moving forward for everyone.

Final classification:

1. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) - 6:19:34

2nd Valentin Madouas (FRA) - +1:11

3rd Christophe Laporte (FRA) - +1'16