Remco Evenepoel makes history

Remco Evenepoel dominated this 77th Vuelta from start to finish. After three weeks of racing and 21 stages, the Brabant cyclist can savour the most magnificent victory of his young career. He kept his main rivals in check perfectly in the demanding mountain stages, and also managed to win two stages without ever jeopardising his red leader's jersey.

Belgium had been waiting for this victory since Johan De Muynck's win in the Giro d'Italia 44 years ago. Five other Belgians had already won the Vuelta before Remco, namely Gustaaf Deloor (1935 and 1936), Frans De Mulder (1960), Ferdinand Bracke (1971), Eddy Merckx (1973) and Freddy Maertens (1977).

The whole of Belgium has paid tribute to the outstanding performance of the young national prodigy, starting with King Philippe, who showed his admiration during a very touching video call.

His achievement made the front page of Belgian newspapers and has also been praised by the international press. For French newspaper L'Equipe, Remco has "everything needed to become a great cyclist." And in Spain, Marca described a "phenomenon who eliminated the first big question mark and proved that he is worthy of conquering the Grands Tours," while for AS, this victory "propels Evenepoel into a higher league."

There is no doubt that the native of Schepdaal (situated in Flemish Brabant) has the potential to achieve other great feats. Although only 22 years old, the whole of Belgium has begun to dream of one day seeing him raise his arms on the Champs-Elysées with the yellow jersey.