Remco Evenepoel claims gold for Belgium - Can he now win the Tour de France?

Remco Evenepoel made history by becoming Olympic time trial champion and winning the first gold medal for Belgium.

The Belgian's victory came just a week after his impressive third-place finish at the Tour de France, behind Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.

With a stage victory and the white jersey, the 24-year-old rider did not return empty-handed from his first Tour de France. He wanted to test himself, and he did. But can he one day win the Tour?

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With two of the very best that this sport has ever seen, Pogačar and Vingegaard, this may be a huge challenge. But, at 24, the Belgian is the youngest of the three, since he is a year and a half younger than the Slovenian, and three and a half years younger than the Dane.

These two won't be around forever and, behind them, few riders are more promising than Evenepoel. But there is a generation of cyclists who will be nipping at his heels once he does find himself at the top. Juan Ayuso is 21 years old, Carlos Rodriguez is 24, Cian Uijtdebroeks is 21, and Lenny Martinez is 20 and all pose a significant threat to Evenepoel's chances of one day winning the Tour.

According to Jeff Roberts, coach of the Belgian junior team, Cian Uijtdebroeks would even be an “improved version of Remco Evenepoel”, as Dutch news outlet Wielerflits reports, and is gifted in both the mountains and on time trials.

In any case, Evenepoel showed his maturity on this Tour. Unlike the 2021 and 2023 Giro, he proved that he knew how to manage the three weeks of racing without imploding. Still performing well in time trials, he has progressed in the mountains to compete with the best.

Eddy Merckx, who has never hidden his admiration for his compatriot, explained to the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad: "He surprised me in a good way. He showed everyone that he could perform at the same level for three weeks. Will he be able to win the Tour one day? I hope so again. Something other than his victory in the Vuelta. It’s more valuable."

The Belgian's progress is impressive. Especially when we take into account that his preparation was truncated by a fall (with Vingegaard and Primož Roglič) during the Tour of the Basque Country.

After arriving in Nice, Evenepoel did not hide his ambitions: "I have the basis to become a winner of the Tour de France," he told France TV.

With a solid team, Evenepoel could soon compete for the yellow jersey on the Tour. To do this, he will still have to improve in certain areas, particularly downhill.

Right now, it is still too early to say. With Pogacar and Vingegaard on the circuit, winning a Tour seems almost mission impossible. But without them, who could prevent Evenepoel from winning La Grande Boucle?

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