Road to Paris: Paved with Gold

This year, the Tour de France may have ended in Nice. But for the hard-working athletes involved, the road led straight to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. With a backdrop worthy of a classic film, where champions speed from Montmartre, past the Arc de Triomphe, onwards to the history books. With the Time Trial starting just north of the tower, in Invalides.

For Remco Evenepoel, Grace Brown, Filippo Ganna, Valentin Madouas and, again, Remco Evenepoel, the unique Parisian courses provided the backdrop to their momentous achievements, racing for the podium, for the gold, equipped with talent and with dreams.

The Men’s Elite Road Race was a challenging 273-kilometer route, with 2,800 meters of climbing. Starting and finishing in gorgeous Trocadéro, the road sped through the wooded, mountainous area of Chevreuse Valley, past Versailles, to the Louvre, you name it. A wild, gigantic endless sightseeing tour through the City of Love. From Montmartre onwards, the road became increasingly technical, with an 18.4-kilometer segment of cobblestoned climbs to the finish.

The Time Trials were to come first on a virtually incline-free route of 32.4 kilometers. With a gorgeous track through Bois de la Vincennes leading past La Cipale, the Vélodrome Jacques Anquetil, and back finally to Invalides.

The streets were alive with the sound of gentle accordions, wet with rain, and bursting with excitement. The Games had just been opened as young Remco Evenepoel stepped up for Team Belgium to set his time. His compatriot, Wout van Aert, had been waiting patiently in the ‘hot seat’, watching the likes of Filippo Ganna push the monster wattage out of his legs and straight into the cobblestones. Pushing Van Aert to second place.

Up rode Evenepoel. Setting a time of 36 minutes, 12 seconds, and 16 hundredth of a second, Remco snatched the gold medal. “I have so many emotions going through my body right now,” he said. “It’s one of the most beautiful moments of my life.”

Formerly a sprint canoer, the Italian record breaker known as Top Ganna is known these days for his efforts on the track and on the road. Winning the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in 2020 and 2021, Ganna was poised to enter the 2024 Olympic Games with a bang—past the speed of sound, straight to the podium.

Having previously won a gold medal for the Team Pursuit on the track in 2020, Ganna now secured silver for his efforts in Paris. A job well done. Magnifico!

She fought the rain and brought the thunder. Grace Brown from Down Under came to stake her claim for the gold medal. The roads were slick with rain as the champion knocked out an average speed of 49 kilometers per hour to set a time of 39:48.

Grace had found herself close to the Rainbow Jersey on numerous occasions. Her years of hard work and dedication unwavering, she finally found her fast on the streets of Paris. In great style.

Iconic.

As if earning the White Jersey at the Tour de France just weeks earlier wasn’t enough, Remco Evenepoel decided this was his year to carve his name into the annals of history. Representing his native Belgium, Evenepoel stayed in the peloton for much of the race. Perhaps even enjoying some of the sights. Then, with roughly 100 kilometers left, Remco started upping his pace to launch a few attacks.

Catching up to legends Van Aert and Van der Poel after the peloton splintered in Montmartre, Remco Evenepoel skillfully utilized the Montmartre climb to drop a few riders and find himself alongside the French Madouas. After dropping Madouas on a flat section, Remco suffered a flat tire as he came past the Louvre. A few chaotic seconds passed as the Belgian was handed a new bike from his team, on which he handily found his fast to victory with a time of 6:19:34.

In front of a roaring home crowd. In the heart of your country. Nothing compares. Valentin Madouas, born and raised in Brest, came from a road racing pedigree. His father, Laurent Madouas, had been able to inspire Valentin to follow in his footsteps—or tire tracks. Valentin is known to be a puncheur, specializing in rolling, hilly terrain. Ideal, it appears, for the Parisian track before him at the Olympic games.

The rider from Groupama-FDJ worked his way through the peloton, kept with the Dutch and Belgian titans battling through Montmartre, and found himself close to Remco Evenepoel, securing a silver medal. Well earned.

Olympic Champions are built of something special. It takes no small amount of skill, determination, and grit to make it to the pinnacle of your sport. For Remco, Filippo, Valentin, and Grace, only the very ultimate effort suffices. Achieving the very top of your sport requires components you can rely on. That is why the Olympic Champions ride our DURA-ACE R9200 groupset. Every component is refined, designed, and fine-tuned to help you achieve your dreams.

And to turn those dreams into a gold medal. Or two, for some.