Remco Evenepoel has a new Specialized Tarmac SL8, which ostentatiously celebrates his double Olympic gold medal wins from Paris 2024.
Combine this with kit that boasts his Soudal Quick-Step trade team colours, the rainbow bands befitting a former world champion and the gold accents denoting his Olympic success and the result is an explosion of colour in a gaudy fashion that can only mean one thing – Remco is 'brat'.
If you missed this summer’s biggest thing, ‘brat’ is all about being 'extra'. BBC Radio 2 DJ Jeremy Vine spent a week desperately trying to define it, but the smudged makeup of this post-teen party girl vibe is, in its nature, unbeholden to rules.
Basically, if you have to ask, you’re not brat.
With that in no way, shape or form cleared up, let’s return to safer ground and look at Evenepoel’s bike and his ‘fit’, to throw another TikTok term into the mix.
The message here is clear
The Olympics roll around every four years and bike brands are always keen to celebrate a new champion. Specialized is no exception to this and has provided Evenepoel with a very shiny Tarmac SL8 frameset for the Tour of Britain.
A golden marble effect is offset with deep black logos for a glittering yet stealthy look.
While little additional colour is needed on the bike, Evenepoel has opted for Specialized’s Turbo Cotton tyres with their deep yellow sidewalls.
The rest of the build is remarkably standard, with neither wheel and cockpit provider Roval, nor groupset sponsor Shimano getting in on the bling.
Let’s just use all of the colours
Soudal Quick-Step’s standard team kit already has a lot going on. There’s a blue fade, white chest, Soudal’s corporate red bar and a host of sponsors adding splashes of colour.
However, Evenepoel now sports gold bands atop his Castelli aero socks.
Gold bands are also present at the hem of his shorts, while his sleeves are a celebration of colour, with the rainbow stripes and yet more gold bands.
Not wanting to miss the chance to paint something else, Specialized has given Remco’s helmet the same treatment as his frameset.
If I was ever double Olympic champion and a former road world champ, I’d want to shout about it too, but I’m not sure this has been done particularly well.
However, with plenty of colour, splashes of gold and a few moody photos, Evenepoel is just some smudged makeup away from driving brat into an Indian summer.
