Belgium puts enormous pressure on Evenepoel ahead of the European Championships: 'If he doesn't win, he's failed'

Over the past two weeks, Evenepoel focused on the World Championships in Montreal, and although things started off well with a fourth consecutive world time trial title, his time in Canada ended on a low note. Evenepoel didn’t have the legs to compete with the best, and since Wout van Aert also underperformed, there was harsh criticism from Belgium.

Analysts, journalists, and former riders brought out the sledgehammer and tore Evenepoel, Van Aert, and the entire Belgian team to shreds. “It’s too strange that everyone had an off day. This is grounds for Pauwels to launch an investigation: where did it go wrong?” said Jan Bakelants.

Evenepoel was far from satisfied. “From the very first lap, I could tell I wasn’t having a good day. It’s a bummer that it had to happen today, but there are no excuses,” he said after the finish. After a day of travel, he was back on his bike in Belgium on Tuesday. “Sunset to clear my head,” he wrote.

With the European Championships approaching, the pressure is now at its peak. Van Aert won’t be competing, and since Tadej Pogačar (injured) and many other big names won’t be in Slovenia either, Belgium is expecting a gold medal on Sunday.

"Without the unbeatable one, he himself becomes the man to beat. But he was that at the World Championships too, and we know how that turned out," according to HLN, which has only 19 riders from the top 100 of the UCI rankings. Regarding the “33rd best-fielded race of the season,” they state: “If Evenepoel doesn’t win, he’s failed.”

A strong statement, echoed by Philippe Gilbert, who analyzed Evenepoel’s World Championships performance on RTL Sport. “He just wasn’t at his best. He put a lot of work into the World Championships time trial, and although that was a fantastic performance, it’s not really compatible with the World Championships.”

Gilbert thought Evenepoel had a week to spare for proper World Championship preparation, but that turned out to be too little. “During those two weeks in Canada, he was never really outstanding, except in that time trial. In the road races, he was consistent, but his results don’t lie. He’s honest about that, too.”