Vuelta champion Remco Evenepoel was rewarded for a prolific season in the saddle by winning the coveted Vélo d'Or trophy on Thursday.

Belgium ace Remco Evenepoel backed up victory at the Vuelta a Espana by storming to the world road race title on Sunday with a spectacular solo ride to claim a first rainbow jersey, vowing "a big party" to celebrate.

Belgian Remco Evenepoel closed in on victory in the Vuelta a Espana after increasing his overall race lead by winning Thursday's 18th stage.

Defending champion Primoz Roglic suffered a nasty fall as Denmark's Mads Pedersen won stage 16 of the Vuelta a Espana at Tomares in Andalusia on Tuesday.

Belgian rookie Remco Evenepoel retained his lead but lost 48 seconds on key Vuelta a Espana rival Primoz Roglic on Saturday as Richard Carapaz bagged a gruelling stage win.

Australian Kaden Groves won a frantic sprint to take stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana on Wednesday as Remco Evenepoel maintained his overall lead on a day dominated by further rider casualties.

Remco Evenepoel tightened his grip on the Vuelta a Espana lead on Sunday as stage nine ended on a steep incline where South African Louis Meintjes won from a breakaway.

Cycling's Vuelta a España embarks Friday with defending champion Primoz Roglic chasing an unprecedented fourth straight victory over a mountainous 3,280km route that begins, however, on the flatlands of the Netherlands.

Italy's Filippo Ganna retained his time-trial crown at cycling's world championships in Bruges on Sunday. The 25-year-old Ineos rider defended his title by beating local favourite Wout Van Aert (Jumbo) by five seconds in a carbon copy of last year's outcome. Another Belgium rider,  Remco Evenepoel took third, 43sec back at the end of a flat 43.3km course in the opening event of the championships in the Belgian city.

The UCI Road World Championship road races in Flanders, Belgium take place Sept. 25-26. The Flanders region is a hotbed for professional cycling, known for its steep and often cobbled climbs. Both the elite men's and women's road races begin in Antwerp and feature multiple complex circuits which will give racers and fans a taste of quintessential Belgian bike racing before finishing on Leuven's Geldenaaksevest.

Promising Portuguese all-rounder João Almeida has left Deceuninck and signed a five-year deal with the UAE Emirates team where he will race alongside double Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar.

Young Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel returns from injury with hopes high that he can challenge the likes Simon Yates and Egan Bernal in the Giro d'Italia, which gets underway on Saturday.

Remco Evenepoel, who was seriously injured in August at the Tour of Lombardy, said he wants to return to competition at the Giro d'Italia in May, the Belgian newspaper La Dernier Heure-Les Sports reported on Tuesday.

Belgian cycling team Deceuninck-Quick-Step announced on Tuesday that they had scheduled their first training camp since the coronavirus lockdown for mid-June in the Flemish Ardennes.