The incredible track record of Remco Evenepoel in championship races

Evenepoel announced himself in spectacular fashion at the 2018 World Championships in Innsbruck, just a year after a DNF in the Junior Road Race. He dominated both the Junior Road Race and the Junior Individual Time Trial, underlining the size of the talent Belgium had on its hands.

In 2019, during his neo-pro season, Evenepoel claimed silver in the Men’s Elite ITT in Harrogate, finishing behind Rohan Dennis. It was a sensational achievement for a rider who had only been competing at junior level the previous year.

He missed the 2020 World Championships after his horrific crash at Il Lombardia, where he went over a bridge barrier and fractured his pelvis. The injury kept him sidelined for months and set him on a long road to recovery.

In 2021, he returned to take bronze in the Men’s Elite ITT on the pan-flat Knokke-Heist to Bruges course, behind Wout van Aert and Filippo Ganna. The road race proved more difficult, and he finished a distant 62nd.

The following year brought both heartbreak and triumph. In Wollongong, Evenepoel was left stunned when Tobias Foss snatched ITT gold by the slimmest of margins, a famous image capturing his disbelief. Redemption came days later as he produced a brilliant, attacking ride to win the Elite Road Race, his first senior world title.

In Glasgow 2023, the “aero bullet” lived up to his nickname, powering to victory in the Men’s Elite ITT and finally taking the rainbow jersey after several near misses.

A year later in Zurich he defended his crown, delivering a dominant ride to become back-to-back World Champion in the ITT. In the road race he came close but had to settle for fifth.

Most recently in Rwanda, Evenepoel completed a historic “three-peat” in the Elite ITT with a performance for the ages, even overtaking Tadej Pogačar on the course. In the road race he overcame a series of problems to salvage silver, leaving many to wonder what might have happened without those setbacks.

At the Belgian National Championships, Evenepoel followed a similar pattern to his breakthrough at the 2018 World Championships, doubling up in the Junior Road Race and Junior Individual Time Trial. With his step up to the professional ranks in 2019, however, he was unable to secure a medal in either event.

After his crash in 2020, his next appearance at the Nationals in 2022 brought immediate success as he won the time trial in Gavere ahead of Yves Lampaert. The road race, however, didn’t go to plan, and he had to settle for 37th place.

In 2023, the story took another turn. Evenepoel captured his first Belgian road race title, outsprinting Alec Segaert to the line, though he missed out on the podium in the time trial.

He skipped the 2024 edition and did not defend his road title, but returned in 2025 to add another National ITT crown to his growing collection.

Evenepoel made his Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2021, finishing ninth in the time trial and 49th in the road race. Three years later in Paris he was simply dominant. He powered through difficult conditions to win time trial gold for Belgium, then attacked from long range in the Elite Road Race to complete a memorable Olympic double. His celebration beneath the Eiffel Tower quickly became one of the sport’s defining images.

2018 was truly the year of Remco in junior cycling. He completed the double at the European Championships, capping it off with a stunning 114-kilometre solo breakaway to win by an incredible 9 minutes and 44 seconds over his nearest rival.

In 2019, he stepped up to the elite ranks and immediately made his mark, winning the time trial in Alkmaar by 19 seconds over Kasper Asgreen in what was his first attempt at an elite European title.

There was no appearance in 2020 after his horrific crash at Il Lombardia, but in 2021 he returned to take third in the elite time trial and second in the road race behind home favourite Sonny Colbrelli in Trento.

In 2022, he skipped the European Championships to focus fully on the World Championships in Wollongong, and he would also sit out the 2023 and 2024 editions.

This year, he returned for the European Championships, where just a week after winning the men’s elite time trial at the World Championships, the Belgian stormed to another victory in the European ITT before finishing second behind the imperious Tadej Pogačar in the men’s elite road race.

Across World, European, Olympic and National Championships, Evenepoel’s consistency borders on the unreal. He has reached the podium in nearly 74 percent of the championship races he has entered, proof that when a title is on the line, Remco delivers.