Bruyneel warns ambitious Evenepoel: ‘Stay away from flanders, you’re not Pogacar’

Professional cycling is full of challenges. Riders push themselves to the limit, constantly searching for boundaries. Take Remco Evenepoel, for example, who publicly toys with the idea of riding the Tour of Flanders. But the financial side of the sport can be just as tough—something Visma | Lease a Bike has experienced first-hand this past year. Johan Bruyneel offers his perspective.

On The Move podcast, the financial year of the Killer Bees was put under the microscope. The Dutch squad reportedly posted a loss of more than €6 million in 2025: on a budget of €52 million, less than €46 million came in. At first glance, that sounds worrying, but according to the podcast’s hosts, owner Robert van der Wallen has already compensated for the deficit.

But should a loss like that raise alarm bells? Bruyneel understands why fans might be concerned, but he argues it’s not unusual for WorldTour teams to lose money. “One of the only cycling teams that made money last year was Soudal Quick-Step,” he explains. “But of course, that had a lot to do with the sale of Remco Evenepoel.”

The former US Postal Service, Discovery Channel and Astana sports director notes that Visma | Lease a Bike clearly had a weaker financial season, and that’s reflected on the transfer market. “If you look at 2025, they did not spend a whole lot of money on new signings. There’s no spectacular, super high salary rider who will join. And, there are some expensive riders who have left. They’re obviously working to close that gap.”

Bruyneel then turned his attention to Evenepoel’s ambitions. The Belgian is heading for the Tour de France, but he is also considering a more extensive spring campaign—including the Tour of Flanders. But is that really wise? His compatriot thinks he’d better stay away from Belgium’s biggest classic. “I'm absolutely not a fan of this idea. Remco is not Pogacar”

"The Tour of Flanders is such a special race: I don't see it as a benefit, there's a lot of risks involved," he continued. 'By definition, Remco is not the best at positioning, and if there is one race where positioning is key.... Even if you live in the area: when you have never raced it: forget about it. I lived at the bottom of the Bosberg, rode the Tour of Flanders once. Afterwards said: I'm never coming back for this crazy race."

On top of that, Evenepoel is not exactly injury-proof. "Let's not forget: Remco is constantly coming back from bad luck," Bruyneel points out. "First of all, his crash in Lombardy, where he fell off that bridge. Then his crash in the Basque Country, with broken ribs, collarbone, whatever. That was really difficult to come back from. And then last winter again, an accident with the car. He doesn't need another one of those."