Remco Evenepoel has made his first competitive outing as world champion, lining up at Binche-Chimay-Binche on Tuesday in his new rainbow kit aboard a special-edition Specialized bike.
The 22-year-old had intended to end his season straight after the World Championships but his stunning solo victory, which followed his success at the Vuelta a España, led him to Tuesday's one-day race to show off his new colours on home Belgian soil.
With fewer than 10 days between his world title and Binche-Chimay-Binche, there was a tight turnaround for sponsors to put together the new kit and bike.
In fact, Evenepoel was presented with both on Sunday during a public celebration in front of huge crowds in Brussels' main square.
He has been handed a custom paint-job for his Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 bike, which is the US company's flagship all-round race bike and is considered by many among the best road bikes.
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The frame is white, with only subtle hints of the rainbow design that signifies world champion status. The red, blue, yellow, green, and black colours appear on the back of the seatutube, while other hints appear on the front derailleur and the head unit mount.
Evenepoel has personal engravings throughout the frame. On the toptube there's a special globe-themes logo along with the words 'World Champ MMXXII' and his name. The seatstays bear the message 'Legends are built not born'.
It is possible Evenepoel will receive a new design for the start of the 2023 season, as has been the case with his teammate and predecessor Julian Alaphilippe in the past two years.
The kit
As for his kit, Evenepoel has a traditional white jersey with the rainbow bands across the chest. QuickStep has pride of place above the bands, but there's no such privilege afforded to co-title sponsor AlphaVinyl, who are stepping aside at the end of the year. Instead, they have a small vertical logo towards the side of the jersey.
Evenepoel has paired the jersey with black shorts, white socks, and white shoes. He has a black version for training kit as well as black outer layers.
He also has a custom helmet from Specialized and new white sunglasses.
Evenepoel has indicated he is racing Binche-Chimay-Binche, the 198km Belgian semi-classic, to engage with fans rather than score his first victory as the world champion. He'll also be rubbing shoulders with Belgian veterans Philippe Gilbert and Iljo Keisse as they make the final steps of their careers, having highlighted the roles they played in his own development.
"I'm not here to race to win, but just to enjoy and to show my jersey to the people," Evenepoel said on Monday.
"I've had a hard week, I was always late to bed, so I don't feel fresh anymore. It's more a kind of thank you to the people for the support all year, and for my team. I'll just try to enjoy it as much as possible."
