"My saddle dropped completely": Evenepoel's monumental anger at the World Championships

Remco Evenepoel dreamed of becoming a double world champion in Rwanda, but a series of mechanical problems prevented him from competing on equal terms for the rainbow jersey in the road race. The Belgian, who arrived with high morale after winning gold in the time trial, suffered a mishap when a pothole caused his saddle to suddenly drop, forcing him to adopt a strange posture that took a toll on him musculally.

Evenepoel's anger with his bike saddle

Evenepoel's outbursts during races are already a classic, and this time it escalated as he had to change bikes twice. The first change was relatively quick, but the second was disastrous with over 40 seconds of waiting in front of the roadside fans while waiting for the team car to arrive. His frustration even led him to hit a plastic bottle, feeling helpless in the situation.

"This may sound strange, but due to my different position on the bike, my hamstrings were overloaded. I couldn't sustain 400 watts."

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The replacement did not solve his problems. “The saddle was not in the same position, I felt cramps and increasing back pain”, the rider later recounted, still incredulous at how everything had gone wrong. His mechanic confirmed that the measurements were correct, hinting that much of the discomfort could have been due to the tension and accumulated anger: "We measured it three more times, and the saddle was at the same height as on his other bike"

When Tadej Pogačar launched his attack on Mont Kigali, Evenepoel was already feeling the effects of the incidents. Despite having the strength to leave the rest of the rivals behind in the chase, he could never close the gap with the Slovenian, who rode steadily to the finish line. Exhausted, the Belgian crossed the line in second place and collapsed against the barriers, in tears.

“I came for the double and felt I could achieve it, but everything must be perfect to be world champion”, he acknowledged later. “Fate gave me a different result.”

The bittersweet taste of the day does not overshadow what was achieved in Kigali, as Evenepoel leaves with a new rainbow jersey in the time trial, the third of his career, and the certainty that he continues to be one of the great protagonists of modern cycling. His next challenge, the European Championship and the Giro di Lombardia, await him to try again what eluded him in Rwanda.