Gestures give away. Remco Evenepoel silenced who knows who on the day of his coronation as world champion. Entering the finish line in Wollongong, with plenty of time to imagine any passageway to happiness, the Belgian phenom put his finger to his lips and demanded silence. Shut your mouth, he came to say. Why? To who? The detail of pride is not surprising because he is not the first. The best cyclist in the world in 2022 has already had more than one episode that describes a personality prone to resentment. Evenepoel reaches the finish line with a lead of two minutes to imagine a powerful celebration, and between the fuss of joy, the hubbub and others, he slides a harsh face: the finger to the lip with acrimony, the gestural language of saying here I am when pointing to the ground with his index finger. He is the gesture that Raúl left forever with the Real Madrid shirt. But in front of him, without apology, he had the historical enemy of his club, Barcelona, the exacerbated passion, the extreme rivalry, football. But who did Evenepoel shut up? Maybe he doesn’t have enemies and imagines them to enhance his motivation in the fight. Related News standard Yes cycling / world The attack of the birds frightens cyclists in the World Cup in Australia José Carlos Carabias standard Yes Road World Championship A cyclist at the service of Pope Iván Martín Evenepoel already had those seams a couple of years ago . In the 2020 Vuelta a Burgos, the first race to be held after confinement and the pandemic, a tender 20-year-old Evenepoel destroyed the race on the hard climb to Picón Blanco. It was one of his displays, but crowned with a gesture of pride. Upon reaching the top, the Belgian dusted off his shoulders, left over, a typical detail of a certain arrogance. “My job is to finish off the work of my colleagues.” A year later, at the European championship held in Trento, Evenepoel starred in another unpleasant episode. The Belgian dedicated a sleeve cut to Sonny Colbrelli as they both crossed the finish line with the victory of the Italian sprinter. The now world champion accused his rival of not having given him a relief on one of the climbs to Povo and of taking advantage of his work to then beat him in the sprint. During the last Vuelta a España, the Belgian showed his blunt character during the successive press conferences that he offered as leader of the race. On the penultimate day in Navacerrada, when asked about his optimal performance in the three-week races, he answered without a shock absorber. “And why not?” He said leaving an awkward silence.
