European Champion Evenepoel gained kilos ahead of European Championships but delivered win nonetheless

Evenepoel has never won the road race at the European Championships before now, so he’s had Sunday, October 5, circled in red on his calendar all year. After all, he’s already won both the time trial and the road race at the World Championships, and in 2024, he also claimed victory in both events at the Olympic Games in Paris. He has also been crowned Belgian champion multiple times.

The European Championship time trial jersey is already in the bag; the road race jersey finally followed this afternoon.

How much confidence was there in top favourite Evenepoel pre-race? He didn’t give the slightest impression—even on a course that should have suited him—that he could win at the World Championships. People called it an “off day,” just as they did for the entire team in Canada, including Wout van Aert.

Evenepoel can be something of a mystery at times, as he won the GP Québec in convincing fashion just one week before the World Time Trial Championships.

Racing against the clock, the Belgian made short work of his competition, securing his fourth consecutive world time trial title. The fact that he wasn’t at his best in the GP Montréal was somewhat brushed aside. After all, Evenepoel did finish second in the Tour de France and won the Clásica de San Sebastián.

All signs were positive, but after the World Championships, some doubt crept in. The topic of conversation leading up to the European Championships: weight.

Patrick Lefevere—Evenepoel’s team manager at Soudal Quick-Step for many years—noticed that his former protégé had put on a few kilos. “When I looked at him, I did get the impression that he had gained a little weight,” he wrote in his column in Het Nieuwsblad.

"Remco has always had to work hard to maintain his ideal racing weight," Lefevere continued. Evenepoel was in top form during the Tour de France, but Lefevere suspects that after the World Time Trial Championships, he "let up a bit."

“That would be only human. You’ve achieved a major goal, your wife and parents are there to celebrate with you, and the pressure is off.”

In the Belgian camp, Evenepoel’s weight was brushed off with a laugh during a media session just before the European Championships.

National team coach Serge Pauwels told HLN simply: “He’s a little heavier than he was in the Tour, but that was factored in for the time trial. Anyway, he’s still in great shape, right? That’s definitely not going to be an issue.”

The Belgians are counting on Evenepoel, who shone in the World Championships time trial, and on the fact that the competition at the European Championships is a bit weaker than it was in Montréal.

“I have something to prove after last week,” Evenepoel said firmly. “I wouldn’t say I’m out for revenge, but I was definitely disappointed that I didn’t live up to expectations. It’s certainly been on my mind these past few days.”

According to Pauwels, with a little more weight on his bike, Evenepoel is, above all, a bit more explosive, which helped him on a punchy course in Slovenia.

In a photo-finish sprint, the 26-year-old Belgian delivered, and took the victory from close second finisher Giulio Ciccone.

In a post race interview, Evenepoel said he felt a huge relief when he won, and was proud to have overcome the doubts that have plagued him since last week's disappointment in Montréal.