Remco Evenepoel has explained the problem with his overshoes during the elite time trial at the Yorkshire 2019 World Championships, amid speculation it involved the UCI sock rule.
When asked whether the issue had involved the controversial UCI sock rule, 19-year-old Evenepoel said that was not the trouble, despite the fact that he had tried to pull up his socks after being told by officials to lower them.
The Belgian, who rode to a staggering second-place finish behind Rohan Dennis, said he in fact had a problem with his shoe which had come loose immediately after he started, and that he was tightening the dial.
#Yorkshire2019 – Remco Evenepoel vs sock length rule: he had to pull down socks before start, he pulled them back immediately after start. pic.twitter.com/EQCwIWqhG8
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) September 25, 2019
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Speaking at the post-race press conference, Evenepoel said: “There was a problem with my shoes so I had to close my shoe more because I actually lost my shoe a little bit.
“I’ve used the shoes for a whole year and I think I put too much pressure on the pedal in the first metres and then it opened so I had to close my shoe a bit more. So this was actually the problem.”
When asked whether the trouble involved the sock-height limit, he responded: “No, not at all because they checked me twice before because the first time I tried to pull it up again. They saw it so I had to pull my socks down again, so nothing to do with the sock rule.”
Evenepoel will now turn his attentions to the Yorkshire 2019 World Championship road race on Sunday (September 29), where he will ride with compatriots Philippe Gilbert and Greg Van Avermaet.
Earlier this year, the UCI began enforcing a maximum sock height, with the regulations stating that socks and overshoes used in competition must not rise above the point half way between a riders ankle and the bottom of their knee.
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Cycling’s governing body the UCI had a representative checking the height of aero socks and overshoes at the Tour de France, with the official using a special device for measurements.
Despite the minor mishap in his time trial, Remco finished second in his first ever elite-level Worlds time trial, finishing 1-09 behind winner Dennis.
