Remco Evenepoel wins record fourth straight world time trial title in Montreal

Belgium's Remco Evenepoel won the elite men's individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal on Sunday, September 20, becoming the first rider to take the world time trial title four times in a row.

Italy's Filippo Ganna finished second, 57 seconds behind, and France's Paul Seixas took third, according to PezCyclingNews and IDLProCycling.

A historic run

IDL Pro Cycling described Evenepoel as "the first rider to become World Time Trial Champion four times in a row." With four world time trial titles, he now matches Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin for the most in the event's history. Neither of them won four in succession, PezCyclingNews and IDL Pro Cycling reported.

"Evenepoel was in a class of his own on the fast course in Montreal and outclassed the competition," IDL Pro Cycling wrote. PezCyclingNews summed up his record in the event as: "Four starts. Four rainbow jerseys."

The rest of the field

Behind the podium, Brandon McNulty finished fourth and Sweden's Jakob Söderqvist fifth, according to PezCyclingNews and IDL Pro Cycling. Cycling Up To Date reported that Söderqvist crashed late in the race.

Among home riders, PezCyclingNews reported that Canada's Michael Leonard finished 13th and Nick Zukowsky 31st.

Evenepoel told reporters he felt he had started too fast. "I thought in the first intermediate I kind of overpaced," he said, according to Cycling Up To Date, which reported that he described his legs as "wonderful."

Reusser defends women's title

In the women's elite time trial, Switzerland's Marlen Reusser defended her world title on her 35th birthday, according to the Giro d'Italia website. Great Britain's Zoe Bäckstedt finished second and Germany's Franziska Koch third. Reusser said: "I was never quite sure what pace to follow."

Why it matters

No rider had previously won the world time trial title four years running, and the result ties Evenepoel with Cancellara and Martin for the most titles overall. His 57-second margin over Ganna was the gap between first and second on a course IDL Pro Cycling described as fast.

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.