Montreal delivered a verdict the Belgian press found bitter, French-speaking and Dutch-speaking outlets alike. Remco Evenepoel finished twelfth, the worst Belgian result at a World Championship since 2018 and Innsbruck. Nieuwsblad summed it up: “Even though we witnessed a fantastic race, we are still left with a bitter taste.”
Sudinfo called it “the cycling disillusionment of the year, perhaps of the decade.” José De Cauwer cut the tactical debate short: “Another tactic would not have changed much. The course did not lie.” And the consultant refused to blame anyone, saying that would not be “fair to the riders”: “They all did their best and played their part.”
The whole country has been hunting for the cause since Sunday. Not tactics, says De Cauwer. Not the course either, it did not lie. Fine. But at what pressure? Nobody asked that in the papers, and I read the lot at the shop, radio on. When a bike from the club comes back disappointing, I don’t hold a press conference about the decade: I put it on the stand, spin the wheel, listen. A cable rubbing, you don’t see that on the telly. A whole country rubbing, you can hear it as far as Mouscron, mind you. I’ll go and pump up the club’s, then.
It’s true, we checked: DH Les Sports+.
