It was only a week since he had won Olympic gold in the time trial. He repeated the feat - this time in an even more challenging road race - beating riders more specialised than himself. Though he did it with a performance that still leaves some sceptics in disbelief. It was hard to believe.

The Belgian cyclist made history with a golden double in the time trial and road race. His performances in both disciplines - at just 24 years of age, make him the only man to have won both disciplines at the same Olympic Games. Australia's Grace Brown and Germany's Kristen Faulkner won gold in the time trial and road race respectively.

In the 38 kilometre time trial, on a course that the Belgian had criticised as narrow and difficult, he beat the specialists. The silver went to Filippo Ganna (Italy) and the bronze to the indomitable Wout Van Aert (Belgium). Belgians took two of the three podium places.

Then came the road race, with Paris providing an iconic finish. This year, for the first time, the Tour de France did not end in the French capital due to the Olympic Games. It was Remco Evenepoel's debut in the race. He made his debut with a third place on the podium, but he didn't get to ride down the Champs-Elysees or through the streets of the capital.

Evenepoel also gave us an Olympic scare. He had a puncture with three kilometres to go. He was riding solo towards his second gold medal. It was the most tense moment of the race. The Belgian was worried as he waited for a replacement bike, which took its time to arrive. When it finally did, he jumped on it to maintain his lead and take the Olympic title with even more drama.

He made up for it with a memorable victory in the road race. He crossed the line alone. He got off his bike and lifted it up, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. A picture for the ages. Only the Dutch cyclist Leontien van Moorsel had previously achieved a similar feat, winning both events at the same Games in Sydney in 2000.

Twenty-four years later, Evenepoel did it again. He withstood the attacks of favourite Mathieu van der Poel and rode solo to victory, with a final attack that saw Frenchman Valentin Madouas fall, who took silver. Laporte, another Frenchman, won the sprint from the chase group to take bronze. There were more tears for the young Belgian prodigy. He started playing football at 16, switched to cycling at 17 and has been winning ever since.

In the women's race, the gold medals went to Grace Brown and Kristen Faulkner. Brown won the time trial. Faulkner surprised all the favourites in the road race with an unexpected attack that brought her glory.

For the first time, the men and women raced the same 32.4-kilometre course in the time trial. Brown announced her intention to retire at the end of the season, and she did so in style. 

The heavy rain turned the course into an obstacle course and the Australian adapted best. With a time of 39:38 minutes and an average speed of 49.045 km/h, she took gold. Britain's Anna Henderson and America's Chloe Dygert took silver and bronze respectively.

Big names such as Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering missed out on the podium. In the road race, Faulkner made a decisive attack in the final kilometres. She left Marianne Vos, who took silver, and Lotte Kopecky, who took bronze, in her wake. Both were favourites, but Paris also had its surprises.