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Evenepoel wins road race for historic Olympic cycling double / Photo: © AFP
Evenepoel wins road race for historic Olympic cycling double
Belgian Remco Evenepoel survived a late puncture to win Olympic cycling road race gold on Saturday, a week after taking gold in the time trial, to become the first man to complete the double.
The 24-year-old Evenepoel raced solo over the final 15km of the 273km race around Paris to finish well clear of French pair Valentin Madouas and Christophe Laporte, who took silver and bronze.
One of the pre-race favourites, Evenepoel left his rivals for dead after attacking on a climb to Montmartre before disaster nearly struck.
He shuddered to a gut-wrenching halt less than 4km from the finish line due to a puncture, waving his arms and clapping his hands frantically as he waited for a replacement bike.
The team car arrived quickly and a panicked Evenepoel, unaware of the advantage he had on his pursuers, dashed over the remainder of the course to seal victory in front of the Eiffel Tower.
The Belgian star won the best young rider's award at his first Tour de France two weeks ago and said he partied so hard he stayed in bed for two days.
He then dominated a rainy, crash-marred Olympic time trial last Saturday.
His latest win secures him a place in cycling history, four years after he plunged into a ravine in a bike race in Italy with fears he my never achieve his potential
Leontien Zijlaard completed a women's double at the 2000 Sydney Games.
P. Batista--JDB
