Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) defended his time trial at the UCI Road World Championships on Sunday, riding without a power meter following a mishap with his bike.
The 24-year-old led through all three time checks in Zurich, Switzerland, beating Filippo Ganna (Italy) to the rainbow jersey by just six seconds.
Panic struck Evenepoel on the start ramp when he dropped his chain a minute before he began his effort. In the scramble, he ended up starting without a power meter, riding what he called "maybe the most difficult time trial of my life".
"It was a pretty tough day for me, my chain dropped one minute before the start. Then I took the start, had no power meter at all since the start, so it was a pure time trial on feeling," Evenepoel said.
"I think, without having the power meter, it was pretty difficult to keep the pace in the last five kilometres, but in a TT, especially in the World Championships, it doesn't matter what the time gap is. I saw my time in green, and I felt like celebrating."
The Belgian's winning time of 53:01 saw him average a blistering 52.156km/h around the 46.1km course. His gap to Ganna grew to 19 seconds in the second of two time checks, but more than halved by the time he reached the finish.
"It was very difficult because I had to push, but I could never go over the limit because I didn't know what [power] I was doing exactly," Evenepoel said. "It must have been maybe the most difficult time trial of my life. But in the end, if you want to win, you have to feel your body as well. Things like that happen. In the end, we won, that's the most important thing."
Edoardo Affini (Italy), having won the European time trial title earlier this month, finish third, while GB's Josh Tarling came fourth, 23 seconds off a medal.
How it happened
Starting in the bowl of the open-air concrete velodrome in Oerlikon, the route for the men's individual time trial posed a tour of two lakes. First, the riders would trace the western shore of Lake Greifensee, before tackling a tough, climbing middle part through the hills, and a long, final drag along Lake Zurich to the line.
Following the early starters, European champion Affini (Italy) showed promise into the first of three time checks. Tarling then set a blistering speed through the 12.5km marker, which was then bettered by Ganna and Evenepoel, shaping up a repeat of last year's podium.
The second time check shook up the script slightly. Over the course's highest point, the middle section favoured the climbers, so it came as a surprise when Ganna was still only nine seconds behind Evenpoel. Jay Vine (Australia), who spent the summer recovering from a horror crash, leapt into the bronze medal position. Tarling trailed the podium by 24 seconds.
Vine's fortunes changed, however, in the run-in to the line. As the Australian came into view at the finish, he appeared with blood pouring from his face and rips down the left side of his skinsuit, the marks of an obvious crash. He did his best to cling onto the podium, but finished 29 seconds down on Affini, who waited in the hot seat.
Meanwhile, hunting down his third world time trial title, Ganna breathed down the neck of Primož Roglič (Slovenia), who started 90 seconds before him. Evenepoel, in pursuit behind, only got stronger on the flat. The gap between the two specialists stretched from nine to 19 seconds, and the Belgian's title defence looked assured.
Whether it was a slower finish from Evenepoel, or Ganna's draft to the line in the slipstream of Roglič, the battle for gold looked tense in the dying moments. Still, with seconds to spare, Evenepoel afforded himself a moment to sit up in the saddle and celebrate.
Evenepoel is now the second rider to win both the Olympic and world titles in the same year. Who was the first? Australia's Grace Brown, who pulled off the feat just hours before.
Results
UCI Road World Championships, elite men's time trial: Zurich > Zurich (46.1km)
1. Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) in 53:01
2. Filippo Ganna (Italy) +6s
3. Edoardo Affini (Italy) +54s
4. Josh Tarling (Great Britain) +1:17
5. Jay Vine (Aus) +1:24
6. Kasper Asgreen (Denmark) +1:30
7. Tobias Foss (Norway) +1:44
8. Stefan Küng (Switzerland) +1:48
9. Victor Campanaerts (Belgium) +1:55
10. Brandon McNulty (USA) +1:58
