
Evenepoel wins second Belgian time-trial title
Over a 40.2km course, a distance comparable to the fifth-stage time-trial of the upcoming Tour on July 9 in Caen, the Olympic and world champion outclassed his competitors, finishing one minute and 11sec ahead of Florian Vermeersch.
Alec Segaert was third at 1:31 in the race at Brasschaat, near Antwerp.
This is Quick-Step rider Evenepoel's 20th victory in time-trials.
In 2025, he had already triumphed in time-trials on the Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphine.
Evenepoel returned to Belgium on Thursday after a high-altitude training camp at Tignes in the French Alps where he "trained a little less than planned due to the heat".
"This weekend, the Belgian championships (time-trial and road race on Sunday) are the last big block before the start of the Tour de France on July 5 in Lille," he said.
"Today was tough because the route didn't offer any recovery time. But the feelings are good. That's the most important thing."
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