Following his victory as Flandrien of the Yr on Tuesday evening, Remco Evenepoel has mentioned that his aim for 2025 will probably be to “simply win a Grand Tour”.
The Belgian gained the title, awarded by Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, for the second time following his first win in 2022 after a 2024 season which noticed him rating double Olympic gold in addition to a Tour de France podium and a second world time trial title.
Following the ceremony, Evenepoel spoke to the paper to stipulate his objectives and programme for the upcoming season.
“Final yr, the Giro-Tour mixture wasn’t doable if you happen to needed to be in high kind for the Olympics. Now we are able to contemplate it, however we are going to first wait and see what the course is like,” Evenepoel mentioned.
“If I journey the Giro, I can’t journey Ardennes classics similar to La Flèche Wallonne or Amstel Gold Race. I’ll by no means skip Liège-Bastogne-Liège if I’m wholesome.
“[Paris-Roubaix] was an thought. However that was earlier than I had tasted the Tour. I will not be using the Tour of Flanders subsequent season. Milan-San Remo remains to be an choice, relying on whether or not you select Tirreno-Adriatico or Paris-Good. We have not really talked about particular applications but. We’ve talked about concepts and objectives.”
Evenepoel said he needs to “have the sensation of profitable a Grand Tour once more” following his first on the 2022 Vuelta a España. He mentioned that taking third on the 2024 Tour motivated him to win one other.
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“That would be the focus,” he mentioned. “Final season, I dominated the time trials. I additionally observed that I’m among the many higher climbers, however there are two even higher. Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard are my new reference factors. Everybody is aware of that my remaining objectives are to win the Giro and the Tour, so I need to make investments totally in that.”
The 24-year-old spoke of lowering the hole to his two rivals subsequent season, having completed 9 minutes down on Pogačar and three minutes behind Vingegaard this July. He joked: “Let’s hope that Pogačar would not make any progress” earlier than noting {that a} real looking goal could be to convey the deficit down to 5 minutes.
Evenepoel mentioned one other goal will probably be to “dare to go for it on days after I really feel actually good.” He singled out stage 17 on the 2024 Tour – the mountain stage to Superdévoluy the place he gained 10 seconds on Pogačar and 12 on Vingegaard – for example of a day he might’ve achieved extra.
“By way of feeling, it was my greatest day of 2024, even higher than on the Olympics,” Evenepoel mentioned. “I used to be actually good, however I used to be afraid to make a transfer. At 3km from the end I rode away from these guys and that was a brand new state of affairs. I noticed that they did not react and thought ‘What is that this?’
“I had a form of panic: ought to I proceed now or construct in a reserve? That day I might have achieved extra. If I get into that state of affairs subsequent yr then I do know that I’ve to present all the things.”
Evenepoel additionally echoed feedback made by his Soudal-QuickStep workforce boss Patrick Lefevere that the workforce as a complete should be in high form heading into the Tour in future.
“The Tour is just not a toy. It’s not simple to journey the GC there. Everybody actually must be 110%. I’m not going to say that it was not good this yr, however I do suppose it might have been higher,” he mentioned.
“I’m speaking in regards to the type of sure riders. Patrick confirmed that. If we need to be aggressive in opposition to groups like Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Workforce Emirates, we’ve to collectively elevate our stage. However they know that. I additionally indicated shortly after the Tour that that was the large factor to work on. It’s as much as the riders and the coaches to get that proper.”
Evenepoel will probably be trying inside himself and throughout his workforce as he seeks so as to add to his Vuelta victory, then. Nevertheless, he will not hunt down victories by hiding away from Pogačar, who was near-unbeatable in 2024.
“I am not going to regulate my program to Tadej’s,” Evenepoel mentioned. “I really actually like racing in opposition to Pogačar. Apart from being a fantastic champion, he’s additionally only a good man.
“I believe it is an honour to compete in opposition to him and to have the ability to race with him. I see it as a problem to attempt to beat him. I’ve already gained races through which he was firstly. I hope that subsequent season there will probably be a type of once more from time to time.”
