The most stressful 66 seconds of Remco Evenepoel’s career?

That was close…too close! Panic lingered in the start house for Remco Evenepoel at the UCI TT world championships in Zürich on Sunday. The Belgian would successfully defended his time trial rainbow jersey, but not without drama. Evenepoel’s achievement of both Olympic and World titles mirrors that of Grace Brown.

The elite men and women shared the final 25 km of the men’s 46.1-km course. Starting in north Zürich, the men traveled south, paralleling the flat finish across the hills. After joining the women’s course in Monchaltorf, they faced the 2.5-km Uetikon a See hill along the east side of Zürichsee. There were three intermediate time checks at 12.5, 26.6, and 36.7 km.

Panic in the disc wheel

But before that happened, Evenepoel was stressed in the start house as his chain came off, just as his launch time approached.

Can Remco Evenepoel take the ‘Quadruple Crown’?

The mechanics had 66 seconds to get the chain back on—and it was trickier than usual given his large chainring. As one mechanic struggled to get the chain back on his special golden issue Olympic Specialized Shiv TT bike, another showed up with a spare—just in case.

What a way to start

They finally got it on the bike with 20 seconds to go—but Remco wasn’t even clipping in until 15. Then, perhaps due to nerves, he seemed to have problems getting his shoes to attach to the pedals. Finally, he sat up and had a few seconds to compose himself before hitting his head mount button and taking off. But man oh man, not the ideal start.

A similar issue occurred for Toronto’s Ashlin Barry of USA Cycling, who finished 9th at the junior world time trial championships after a late start. The 16-year-old, a top contender, arrived ready to race, but a UCI commissaire noted his sock length was unmeasured. Despite prior measurements indicating his socks were legal, Barry had to adjust them, causing a 10 to 20-second delay. France’s Paul Seixas won, finishing 41 seconds ahead of Barry, who might have placed in the top five without the setback. Canada’s Adam Smith finished 30th, and Mikael Guilbault came in 47th.

Evenepoel also had a stressful finish at the 2024 Olympic road race. While leading, with just a few kilometres remaining, he suffered a flat tire. Jumping off his bike, he yelled, “Fiets! Fiets!”—Flemish for “bike”—and waited for his mechanic to give him a spare. He mounted quickly and went on to secure a memorable win.