German drivers disappoint
Evenepoel races to World Cup gold with an amazing finish
8/11/2023 6:59 p.m
Ten months after winning the world title on the road, Remco Evenepoel also takes the rainbow jersey in the time trial. The Belgian child prodigy shows his class on the brutal final climb. The time trial ended disappointingly for the German starters.
Remco Evenepoel raced up the brutal cobblestone climb with outrageous ease, but then he too had to catch his breath. The Belgian child prodigy stormed into the competitive rainbow jersey again after an amazing finish in the spectacular individual time trial at the World Cycling Championships in Scotland. Evenepoel drove as if from another world, flew unstoppably up the almost one kilometer long and enormously steep final climb to Stirling Castle and, after his triumph in the road race a year ago, was the first driver ever to climb the time trial throne. No one had previously won both titles.
After 47.8 kilometers, starting and finishing in the small town of Stirling, north-east of Glasgow, the 23-year-old beat his rivals Filippo Ganna (+12.28 seconds) from Italy and the 19-year-old Brit Joshua in 55:19.23 minutes Tarling (+48.20) on the places. “I had a great day, I’m very happy,” said Evenepoel in the winner’s interview: “I was able to ride 10 to 15 watts faster than usual.” The last ramp was “brutal,” he continued, “I could hardly feel my legs. I’m very proud.” Evenepoel, the upcoming challenger of superstars Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar in the Tour de France, delivered a near-perfect time trial.
“It’s not something we’re going to toast to”
The German starters, on the other hand, had a weak day. Lennard Kämna, junior time trial world champion in 2014, finished 18th, 3:00.59 minutes behind. The German champion Nils Politt finished 32nd (+3:55.51). The top ten, the stated goal, was clearly missed. “I think it wasn’t a bad time trial for me personally,” said Kämna: “I ran out of breath a bit in the last few kilometers.” In the fight for tickets for the Olympic Games in Paris next year, the Germans suffered a severe setback. “It’s not something we’re going to toast to,” judged Kämna.
The last German winner was time trial specialist Tony Martin, who triumphed in Doha in 2016. Overall, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist in London secured the coveted rainbow jersey four times. Martin ended his active career almost two years ago. Almost all the stars came on Friday. Two-time Tour winner Pogacar, Wout van Aert, Geraint Thomas and defending champion Tobias Foss, among others, fought against the clock for the coveted rainbow jersey. Mathieu van der Poel, winner of the road race, did not compete.
In bright sunshine, the spectators along the route provided a cycling festival with Scottish folk music and the sound of the bagpipes. The tormenting final ramp, with an incline of eleven percent in places, didn’t get any easier because of that. Politt described the climb as “extremely hard” when he analyzed the race in the shadow of the castle, completely sweaty: “It feels like forever.” He had “quite a struggle”, explained the man from Cologne, “it went badly, but that doesn’t change anything, the race is over.”