While blaming Van der Poel, Evenepoel privately wishes for “the best Wout” and Van Aert for “Glasgow peak.”

Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel will be gunning for gold when they line up for the Olympic road race on Saturday. Team USA, led by Matteo Jorgenson,

has already stated that it would be “a disgrace” if Belgium doesn’t win. Jasper Stuyven and Tiesj Benoot play supporting roles. The Belgians still identify another strong favorite, though, in spite of their certainty.

The four Olympians sat down for a press moment on Friday, with Evenepoel — following his third place in the Tour and his gold medal in the time trial — naturally being highlighted as the top favorite. He doesn’t shy away from that role. “This is my last race before I take a break, so I’m drawing motivation from that. I feel fresh, and last week’s Olympic medal gives me even more drive,” Sporza quotes him as saying.

In 2022, Evenepoel claimed the world title in Australia shortly after winning the Vuelta a España, so he wasn’t surprised by his strong performance in the time trial. Those legs could come in handy in a 270-kilometer race. ”

The experience in Australia indeed taught us that I often peak again two weeks after a grand tour. Let’s hope that’s the case again on Saturday. Do I see opportunities? Yes, definitely. Montmartre is far from the only climb. The local circuit has fifteen very challenging kilometers. It’s going to be a true elimination race, especially in these temperatures and at this point in the season.”