At his coronation as Emperor of France in 1804, Napoleon put the crown on his own head, to mark that he was the one with the power, the man who had brought himself to this point. The pope was there, but he had no part in the crowning, that was left to the man who was about to become emperor to do himself.
We’ll leave the discussions of the merits of such a move to the historians, and the Frenchman’s legacy to boot, but it was what was brought to mind by Remco Evenepoel’s success at the Worlds on Sunday. The Belgian rode to victory in the individual time trial at the World Championships while aboard a golden bike, sat up before the finish line to celebrate then put on his own rainbow jersey on the podium; it felt as close to self-coronation as you could get in cycling.
Sure, people sit up before the line all the time - just ask Lorena Wiebes - but not often in time trials, where every second counts. Evenepoel clearly knew he had beaten Italy’s Filippo Ganna - although it wasn’t by much in the end - and so afforded himself the luxury of having a perfect photo to go with it.
Evenepoel of Belgium came to the race in Zürich as the defending champion, having bested all in Glasgow last year, and as the recently crowned Olympic ITT victor, hence the golden bike. The 24-year-old, who has had a golden year, winning the road race at the Paris Games too, did not look troubled at any point during his ride to the rainbow bands.
Having won the time trial, Evenepoel now stands on the brink of more history in the road race this Sunday. The Belgian, the first man to win the Olympic and Worlds time trials in the same year, the first man to win both road events at the same Games, could now become the first man to win both road events at the World Championships, and become the first man to win the Olympic and Worlds road races in the same year. It’s worth noting that the same woman has won both the road race and the time trial at the same Worlds before, most recently Anna van der Breggen in 2020.
Back to the present, and the course in Zürich suits Evenepoel, with over 4,300m of climbing over 274km, and he’s clearly in shape. The problem in the way is Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia, the favourite for the race, and the only man whom the course suits more than his rival. The pair, the winners of the last four editions of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, will produce a blockbuster race this Sunday.
Pogačar, too, stands on the brink of history, the winner of the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France already this year, will line up in Winterthur on Sunday as the one to watch. If he were to win, he’d become the third man and fourth person to win the Giro, Tour and Worlds all in the same year, the first man since Stephen Roche in 1987. The Slovenian is usually successful at everything he turns his focus to, whether that’s the Tour of Flanders or the Giro.
Of course, this is a one-day race, an incredibly tough one at that, and so anything might happen; there will be almost 200 people trying to stop the event becoming the Evenepoel and Pogačar show, but when these two race, they usually rise to the top. Neither has ever raced each other at Liège, so the race will be a fascinating insight into how the two preeminent one-day climbers face off against each other. Both like to win solo, with Pogačar doing so at Strade Bianche and Liège this year from extreme distances, and Evenepoel following suit at the Olympics. It is appointment viewing.
Destiny and history seems to be behind both of them, but only one rider can win, only one of them can set themselves apart in the record books. Perhaps Evenepoel should know that Napoleon’s reign ended in him being deposed as Emperor, although not without making a significant mark. Pogačar remains the rider to beat, but his own coronation is not a foregone conclusion.
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If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.
