UCI WorldTour: Remco Evenepoel, the rainbow soloist

The reigning UCI World Champion wrote history on Sunday as he won Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the second year in a row (both times after spectacular solo rides), ahead of Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious).

Rainbow jersey on the shoulders and dressed all in white on the Ardennes roads, defending champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) once again flew to the top of the Côte de la Redoute, around 30km from the finish of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. It was a formidable and feared assault that only the Briton Tom Pidcock was able to follow, and only for a few hundred metres.

On Sunday, nothing and no-one could stop the young Belgian star on his way to a new historic solo ride. Not even Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who unfortunately had to abandon after a crash that left him with fractures to the left scaphoid and lunate bones.

Rainbow celebration

In Liège, for his first UCI WorldTour race in Belgium since he claimed the road race rainbow jersey in Wollongong (Australia), the native of Aalst was finally able to show off his jersey. A rainbow in the rain, it was natural and spectacular, a success that rewarded the collective work of Soudal-Quick Step in wearing down their rivals during the entire race. "It's a pride to win this beautiful race with this jersey, I wanted this picture to put it in a frame at home," the now two-time winner of the Doyenne rejoiced.

Imperturbable despite a first acceleration by Jan Tratnik (Jumbo-Visma) in the Côte de Wanne, initially accompanied by Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama - FDJ), the "Wolfpack" reduced the size of the bunch by setting a brutal pace under the impetus of Mauro Schmid, Julian Alaphilippe, Louis Vervaeke and Ilan Van Wilder. The race by elimination quickly got the better of the ambitions of Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), Enric Mas (Movistar Team) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan Team).

And like last year, it was on the legendary Côte de la Redoute that Remco Evenepoel launched his decisive attack. “The finale was harder this year, but it suited me better. That's why I chose to attack in La Redoute,” Evenepoel explained at the finish, before adding: “Plan B was getting a gap atop the Roche-aux-Faucons. When I looked back and saw there were only five riders behind me, I understood the pace was very high and that I would go away if I could attack. I'm glad plan A worked.”

Feats worthy of the greatest

Targeting high goals and achieving them is the hallmark of great champions. Remco Evenepoel was already a special star but this second victory in Liège, at only 23 years old, secured his place alongside some of the greatest riders in the history of cycling. The "Little Cannibal" became the first rider to win on the Doyenne with the rainbow jersey since Moreno Argentin in 1987. Besides the Italian, only three other riders had done so in the past: the Swiss Ferdi Kübler (1952), who was also the last before Evenepoel to win the race twice in his first two participations, and Belgians Rik Van Looy (1961) and Eddy Merckx (1972, 1975).

Taming the Doyenne is a big achievement. But winning it twice in succession is a feat of another caliber, one that very few riders have achieved. On April 23, Evenepoel became the ninth rider in history to achieve this historic feat, succeeding Italian Michele Bartoli (1997, 1998) and joining Merckx (winner from 1971 to 1973), Argentin (from 1985 to 1987), and Belgians Fred De Bruyne (1958, 1959), René Vermandel (1923, 1924), Louis Mottiat (1921, 1922) and finally Léon Houa, winner of the first three editions at the end of the 19th century (the Doyenne was born in 1892).

Remco Evenepoel did not just win his second Monument on Sunday in the Ardennes. He dusted off the history books of road cycling.

Eyes on the Maglia Rosa

After winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège with the biggest gap (1'06'') over his chasers since Andy Schleck in 2009, "the phenomenon" Evenepoel eyes more glory in the Giro d'Italia (May 6-28), where he will notably battle once again with Primoz Roglič (Jumbo-Visma). The Belgian narrowly lost in their first duel of the season on the roads of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.

He’s already returned to training before tackling his big goal for the season, as he wants to repeat the same approach that allowed him to win his first Grand Tour last September in the Vuelta Ciclista a España. After the red and the rainbow jerseys, is it time for pink?