The Olympic Cycling Champion Remco Evenerpoel has been hospitalised after he was involved in an accident while out training on Tuesday morning in the Flemish Brabant municipality of Dilbeek will be examined by doctors who will assess the extent of the cyclist’s injuries Remco Evenepoel was training when he was involved in a road accident in the Flemish Brabant village of Oetingen Evenepoel reportedly collided with a post office vehicle on the Kerkplein How the accident happened is still unclear The emergency services went to the scene and took the cyclist to hospital for medical checks The Olympic Champion was conscious throughout and was sitting upright it would appear that his injuries are not too serious The 22-year-old is the first Belgian to win a Grand Tour since 1978 It is difficult to overstate just how big a star Remco Evenepoel is in Belgium right now The man from the Flemish Brabant is on all the newspaper front pages and fills most of the column inches in between He was already famous, the face of Pizza Hut in Belgium, but in becoming the first man from the country to win a Grand Tour since 1978 he has been elevated to superstardom.  It might take a while for the 22-year-old to recover from this Belgians might have won 48 separate editions of the five Monuments (Milan-San Remo Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia) since that last Grand Tour win On Sunday night, the young man received a call from the King of the Belgians to congratulate him on his victory; even royalty bows to the Vuelta winner This is how big this result is for the country a place where cycling is almost a religion.  Videos from his home town of Schepdaal show it going crazy for their hero and the mayor of the municipality has already declared his intention to make Evenepoel an honorary citizen No matter what he does in the rest of his career now not only was Evenepoel greeted by his fiancée instead flying direct to Australia for the World Championships Any space between Evenepoel and the media frenzy that will surely greet him in Belgium must be a good thing for him much more confident and already used to his celebrity even if this has stepped up another notch now along with the general partying and Remco-mania the local patisserie even made Vuelta-themed eclairs for purchase so one could even celebrate while having a cake The Vuelta victory might be undermined a little due to the withdrawal of Primož Roglič and with 36 professional wins by the age of 22 it remains to be seen how much further he can go in the sport.  and Evenepoel will try and block out the adulation; there are more races to be won Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds Before cycling took over his professional life he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes Evenepoel during his solo ride to victory on Sunday Evenepoel celebrates with Wout van Aert following his win No more races this season and big decisions for 2023 In the time-honoured advertising ritual in the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl the most valuable player is ushered over to a television crew and asked the traditional question: “What’s next?” The answer is the same every time: “I’m going to Disneyland.” The same query invariably emerges at some point after the elite men’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships when the newly crowned champion is asked to outline when he will show off his rainbow bands for the first time in competition the organisers of late-season Classics are usually willing to pay for the honour thus completing the most remarkable treble this side of 1999 I think I also want to train for another week,” Evenepoel said in Wollongong “And I can't wait to show this beautiful jersey for the first time in a race next season.” The appointments on Evenepoel’s calendar from here to the end of the season are he will be feted at a reception on Brussels’ Grand Place arranged to honour Belgium’s first elite men’s world champion in a decade and first Grand Tour winner in 44 years like everything is Evenepoel’s gilded career “I hope there will be a lot of people and that it won't rain that day I love that my city wants to honour me,” Evenepoel said of what he called his “balcony moment.” That reception would appear to rule out any prospect of Evenepoel donning his rainbow jersey at the previous day’s Giro dell’Emilia, while RCS Sport will be disappointed to learn that a duel against Tadej Pogačar at Il Lombardia the following week was already long out of the question Evenepoel will marry his partner Oumi on October 9 He laughed at the notion of giving his rainbow jersey an outing there “You’re giving me an idea… I'll ask Oumi if she likes that,” Evenepoel said according to Het Nieuwsblad “But I still think I'm going to have to go get a real suit I put that pressure entirely on my mother.” San Sebastián and Wollongong – most attention will QuickStep were overly hasty when they thrust Evenepoel into a Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia in his first race back after breaking his pelvis the previous year The lesson was digested by team and rider alike Patrick Lefevere had the patience to hold Evenepoel back from three-week racing until the Vuelta a decision that allowed the Belgian youngster a period of trial and error at races like Tirreno-Adriatico Itzulia Basque Country and the Tour de Suisse For 2023, Lefevere again appears keen to err on the side of caution, downplaying the idea of sending Evenepoel to the Tour de France A return to the Giro would appear to mark a steadier progression before the Schepdaal native eventually tests himself in the white heat of July “Because suppose Evenepoel goes to the Tour and it’s not easy then everyone is ready with the gun to shoot him As the winner of the Vuelta a España and with that jersey around his shoulders he can't really afford to go badly.” Those thoughts were echoed by QuickStep-AlphaVinyl directeur sportif Klaas Lodewyck – “We have always talked about the longer-term and we have to stick to that,” he told Sporza everything in its time” – but it remains to be seen if the ever-ambitious Evenepoel sees things in quite the same way The casting vote may come down to QuickStep’s new title sponsor Soudal and while they may wish to see their name on a rainbow jersey at the Tour in 2023 they have also committed to Lefevere’s team for five seasons on the basis of his long-term project around Evenepoel They may see little reason to influence his thinking at this point Wherever Evenepoel starts his 2023 season – and everything from the Vuelta a San Juan to the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana or Volta ao Algarve is a possibility at this early juncture – a previous Belgian rainbow jersey has firm ideas about where he should spend the winter “He has a permanent place in Spain to train He will find much more peace there than in Belgium Have some family and friends around you and try to isolate yourself.” he landed the rainbow jersey in Madrid after a season that had already seen him claim the Tour of Flanders Paris-Roubaix and two stages of the Tour de France With Lance Armstrong having recently announced his retirement from cycling for the first time the 24-year-old Boonen found himself being feted as cycling’s biggest star It was hardly a coincidence that he moved from his home in Balen to Monaco that same winter but there wasn’t much respite to be had abroad either In the dizzying weeks after that Worlds triumph Vélo Magazine speculated whether Boonen could win Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the future or perhaps even the Tour de France “I was 24 and had won Classics and Monuments but suddenly I was an international star overnight,” Boonen wrote “Remco was often solicited by newspapers Now abroad is also going to pull on his sleeve Everyone is going to want a piece of him.” Boonen didn’t develop into a Tour contender though he demonstrated remarkable longevity in the face of all that expectation Despite claiming in Madrid that he would retire at the age of 30 amassing one of the finest Classics palmarès in the history of the sport some very public mis-steps along the way as he came to terms with his fame Being the great hope of Belgian cycling is an unforgiving business Young men who have been feted as the next Merckx – from Fons de Wolf to the late Frank Vandenbroucke – have rarely been able to construct firewalls to protect themselves from the pressures and distractions that come with being the best cyclist in the world’s most cycling-mad nation perhaps Evenepoel is better equipped than most to cope with his status When Evenepoel swapped football for cycling in April 2017 a television crew showed up to report on one of his first races word of his exploits on restricted gears had already made the junior men’s road race essential viewing at the Innsbruck Worlds has been parsed and analysed by his home press The 23-year-old has already done his growing up in public In a Het Nieuwsblad column before last year’s Worlds in Leuven Lefevere cast his mind back to Madrid in 2005 admitting that he hadn’t wanted Boonen to win the title “Being world champion was too much of a good thing it turned out later,” wrote Lefevere who added that he had no such qualms about Evenepoel becoming world champion at an even younger age suggested on Sunday that the rainbow jersey would serve to inspire Evenepoel rather than inhibit him he gets a kick out of this,” Boonen said “He has an enormous urge to prove himself and that jersey is going to give him wings.” I’m not a robot,” Evenepoel said afterwards according to Sporza.“I said beforehand: it would be day by day Evenpoel began racing again after a long recovery from being doored He followed that up with a third at Amstel Gold “At the Redoute, my best legs were already gone. I wasn’t feeling good there anymore. My poor positioning? If you’re strong, you naturally move to the front,” Evenepoel said While many fans shared messages of support for the Belgian superstar the group was also flooded with offensive posts including racist comments linked to Rayane’s religion and background A group moderator flagged one particularly racist message His comments came even before Van Gucht added fuel to the fire with remarks about Rayane’s family on ‘De Afspraak.’ Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad And then Ruben Van Gucht takes it one step further but people who know us send us the worst of it It’s not just about Oumi—it’s about our family But surely what happens between the two of them is no one else’s business?” He added that these kinds of statements hurt the family and are unacceptable “This is no longer about the athlete—it’s about our child but for anyone else who’s been subjected to this kind of abuse,” his father and discrimination are punishable under Belgian law “An investigation can be launched,” police commissioner Koen Luppens said “The Criminal Code and the Anti-Discrimination Code cover hate speech A post shared by Remco Evenepoel Rayane (@remco.ev) Evenepoel has fired back strongly at Ruben Van Gucht in an Instagram Story. On the TV program De Afspraak the Sporza journalist said Monday that he had heard a rumour that the double Olympic champion was (financially) supporting the family of his wife When the conversation turned to Evenepoel’s faith—he recently said he draws a lot of strength from Islam—Van Gucht brought up the Moroccan in-laws of the 25-year-old cyclist he has been involving his wife’s family more and more in his victories and achievements,” said the presenter That’s something he has to decide for himself I don’t think many of his colleagues do it that way.” Van Gucht then stressed that he had only heard the story second-hand people are welcome to say tomorrow that these are baseless rumours I’m simply relaying something I picked up from within the cycling world.” Not long after, Evenepoel posted a detailed response on Instagram “I feel obligated to respond to the absurd and disrespectful comments Ruben VG made about my private life He claimed I support my wife’s family,” the Belgian said “Let me be very clear: this is complete nonsense.” Evenepoel said that his wife comes from a wealthy family “Her parents have built a wonderful life for their children through hard work and entrepreneurship Her parents live barely 200 metres from mine in Schepdaal Anyone who lives there knows they live in a beautiful villa Evenepoel emphasized that since he was seventeen he has always been warmly welcomed by the Rayane family “We’ve known each other since we were young—long before there was any talk of money Her parents owe their success to no one but themselves Certainly not to me,” the story began Let me explain something: if anyone has helped us it’s more likely our (in-laws) who have always done everything to support us and make us stronger Or is it hard for you to believe that a Moroccan family could have simply worked hard and become well-off That says more about your limited worldview than it does about reality,” he posted Evenepoel is currently racing at the Tour of Romandie Get the digital edition of Canadian Cycling Magazine Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Just two weeks after becoming the first Belgian in 48 years to win a Grand Tour This time in the men’s elite road race at the Cycling World Championships in Australia The 22-year-old rider from the village of Schepdaal near Dilbeek in Flemish Brabant won the with a spectacular solo victory Evenepoel claimed his victory alone and well ahead of the field after breaking away from his closest pursuer Alexey Lutsenko 25km from the finish The French rider Christophe Laporte took silver and the Australian Michael Matthews took bronze Already having won the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) earlier this month September 2022 has been a very successful year indeed for Remco Evenepoel His victory in Wallongong on Sunday means that he is the first Belgian winner of the World Championships since Philippe Gilbert 10 years ago in 2012 Remco Evenpoel completed the 266.9km race in 6 hours This was 2 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of his nearest rival The Remco Evenepoel has been awarded the prize for Sportsman of the Year 2019 At just 19 the cyclist from Schepdaal in Flemish Brabant who took last year’s prize for “most promising sportsman” and more the tally of second-placed Victor Campenaerts (354 points) Wout Van Aert completed the trio of cyclists in the top 3 with 339 points Remco Evenepoel received the converted trophy from cycling legend Sven Nys He succeeds the footballer Eden Hazard as Sportsman of the year Last month Remco Evenpoel was awarded the Chrystal Bike he was forced to be satisfied with second place 2019 was Remco Evenpoel’s first season as a professional cyclist He has become the first sportsman ever to win the Most Promising Sportsman and the Sportsman of the Year awards in consecutive years Gymnast Nina Derwael is Sportswoman of the year For the second consecutive year Nina Derwael has been voted Sportswoman of the Year The 19-year-old from Sint-Truiden in Limburg province came first with 1,077 points 170 points more than the basketball player Emma Meesseman (907 points) the athlete Nafi Thiam (667 points) was third Nina Derwael was handed her trophy by the Olympic High jump Champion Tia Hellebaut