Wollongwong, Sep 25: A fortnight after becoming Belgium’s first Grand Tour winner in 44 years, Remco Evenepoel became his country’s first men’s elite road race world champion in a decade to cap his breakthrough season.
Evenepoel won the Vuelta a Espana Grand Tour two weeks ago and was again dominant in Sunday’s 266.9-kilometer race as he broke away with 25 kilometers left and powered to an emphatic win.
The 22-year-old spread his arms in celebration as he crossed the line as he became the first Belgian man since Philippe Gilbert in 2012 to win a cycling worlds road race. French rider Christophe Laporte took second. Australian Michael Matthews won bronze.
The race featured 12 laps of a 17-kilometer finishing circuit at Wollongong.
Inside the last 40 kilometers the pace quickened and the front group started to pull away.
On the second last lap Evenepoel and Kazakh rider Alexey Lutsenko broke clear and built a small advantage. The Belgian pushed clear of Lutsenko on the second-last ascent of the Mt Pleasant climb on his way to a dominant victory.
Before the race news emerged that Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel, one of the title favorites for the men’s race, had been arrested and charged by police for an alleged assault at the team’s hotel in the early hours of Sunday morning. (AP)
