The 2024 Olympic men's eoad eace began with a 5-kilometer procession, passing iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, Les Invalides, and the Latin Quarter, before starting on the Rue Gay-Lussac in Paris's 5th arrondissement. The 273.3-kilometer-long route wound through France's Hauts-de-Seine département, passing by Château de Versailles and through the Chevreuse Valley.
On a lengthy day, the intensity would rise in the final 70 kilometers, with three riders, Ben Healy and Ryan Mullen of Ireland and Alexey Lutsenko of Kazakhstan, holding a 32 second lead over the peloton with 68 kilometers to go to the finish. A chase group of seven riders would then form with 55 kilometers left., challenging the three riders off the front.
With 46 kilometers to go, Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel attacked from the peloton, with Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel matching van der Poel's move. Julian Alaphilippe of France, Matteo Jorgenson of the United States of America and Toms Skujins of Latvia also reacted, looking to stay in contention with the new offensive development at the front of the race.
With 36 kilometers remaining, Ben Healy maintained a 23 second gap of the chase group, but Healy was caught as the riders entered the mark signaling there were under 30 kilometers to go.
Remco Evenepoel and Valentin Madouas of France soon established themselves at the front, with several riders in the chase behind, and with 15 kilometers left on the day, Evenepoel was able to separate himself from Madouas.
With under 10 kilometers remaining, Remco Evenepoel had a 38 second gap on Valentin Madouas, which the Belgian rider would be able to keep, powering towards the finishing line and capturing gold at the Men's Road Race.
France would also leave the race with pride, taking silver and bronze on the day, as Valentin Madouas crossed the line in second for silver and Christophe Laporte would come in third, wearing bronze on the podium.
Evenepoel also claimed the gold medal for Belgium at the Men's Individual Time Trial, finishing the 32.4 kilometer route, which started at the Esplanade des Invalides and finished at the Pont Alexandre III bridge, in a time of 36:12.
Evenepoel rides for the UCI WorldTeam Soudal-Quickstep, and is a two-time World Champion, winning the road race in 2022 and the individual time trial in 2023. Evenepoel became the first Belgian to win a Grand Tour in 44 years by clinching the Vuelta a España in 2022, where he also won two stages. Tour de France: In 2024, he made history by finishing third overall in his debut at the Tour de France, marking the first time a Belgian rider has reached the podium in 43 years. He also won a stage and the white jersey for the Best Young Rider. He also has captured multiple victories in prestigious one-day races, including Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2022 and 2023, and the Clásica San Sebastián in 2019, 2022, and 2023.
The Women's Road Race will take place tomorrow, on August 4th.
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