Lemko Evenpoel became the first man to win both the Olympic road race and time trial, defending his ITT world title and reaching the podium in his debut Tour de France.

After suffering a setback when he broke his collarbone in a group crash in Iturria-Basque, Evenpoel was in great form at the Tour in July. He took his first stage win and finished behind Tadej Pogachar and Jonas Vingegaard, who had won the last five Tours, as the overall winner.

After winning the award, Evenpoel reflected on the year in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws, where the 24-year-old revealed that after his three-week ordeal at the Tour, he realized that he was making history for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I felt it right after the Tour: I felt it right after the Tour. I knew myself well, and I knew that if I took care of myself, I would do well.

“After my first gold medal, when I was driving home and having dinner with my parents and grandparents, I just went with the flow. I was that confident. My loved ones already knew then that I was going to win a second gold medal.

“The next morning we left for our vacation, and as I lay by the pool, the realization dawned on me. What I had accomplished was “out of this world.”

In retrospect, the still young Belgian is convinced that he will never be able to surpass what he accomplished last August.

“That tournament was the number one moment in my career. It's pretty crazy. My career isn't even half over yet, and who knows what's going to happen next.

Evenepoel not only reflected on the euphoria of what he had accomplished, but also spoke candidly about his current situation as he struggles to recover from his injuries. He is in the midst of a rehabilitation period after reportedly breaking his ribs, right shoulder blade, and right hand when he ran into a mail truck door that suddenly opened in front of him.

“At the hospital, I was told that if I did not have surgery as soon as possible, everything would go wrong. I knew right away that I needed a long rehab,” he said, admitting that he tried to stay positive but struggled for the next few weeks.

“I doubted myself. Am I going to make it this year? People don't see those things. They run into me at the store. They ask me how I'm doing, and I laugh. I'm positive, but when I go home I break down.”

But Evenpoel is as hungry as ever, eager to get healthy so he can focus on his goals for next year. He may return to racing at De Brabantse Pijl in April, just before the Ardennes Classics, but his eyes are only on the Tour de France.

“I don't want to rush into anything. It takes five or six months to prepare for the Grand Tour, so I don't have that kind of time.

“I'm trying to concentrate on the Ardennes Classics, but honestly, I have only one thing on my mind. That is to finish high in the Tour. The rest doesn't matter, I'm going to take my time until the beginning of July and then I'll have three weeks to do better than last year at the highest level.”

For Evenpoel, who has accomplished so much at such a young age, it is more difficult to surpass the previous year as a multiple world champion, double Olympic champion, Grand Tour winner, and Monument winner. But the lure of the yellow jersey continues to fuel his fire.

“Every year I write down my goals at the first breakfast on January 1,” he said. 'Right now it's a little difficult because of my injury, but my career goals are clear,' he said. That's all I really want to accomplish. Is that stressing you out?