Evenepoel's former manager unimpressed by Belgian: 'Seixas strikes me as more of a hard worker'

Let’s recap: Evenepoel won no fewer than fourteen individual races this year, including two stages in the Tour de France, the Amstel Gold Race, the GP Québec, the World Time Trial Championship, and the European Road Championship. A phenomenal list of achievements for his first year with a new team. He also finished second in the Tour de France, something for which De Cauwer has nothing but praise.

"He rode amazingly out there," the Belgian told Wieler Revue. “In the first week, I was still thinking, ‘It can’t be true, can it? It’s just not quite there.’ But then came the second week, and the third week was fantastic.” With two consecutive stage wins, Evenepoel secured second place in the Tour, his best-ever finish in La Grande Boucle.

After winning the Clásica San Sebastián a week later, Evenepoel took a month off. He returned immediately with a victory in the GP Québec, and went on to win a total of five of his eight race days in September and October. But De Cauwer was still not convinced about how his season ended. “In hindsight, it turns out that his form in the autumn was certainly not as good as it was during those last two weeks of the Tour.”

Because on the most important days, Evenepoel didn’t really deliver. “Races like Lombardy and the World Championships really stick with me,” says the former team manager of Soudal Quick-Step. “That’s why that European Championship means less to me. If he had won Lombardy the following week, I would have thought that European jersey was fantastic. Ciccone also made a serious mistake at the European Championships...”

Evenepoel started Il Lombardia as one of the top favorites, but was blown away by Paul Seixas. De Cauwer is completely blown away by the 20-year-old Frenchman. “On the day of Il Lombardia, after the race, I said: ‘There have to be a few guys who need to start paying attention now.’ And I’m talking about Remco Evenepoel, Vingegaard, and a few others. That guy is twenty years old, you know!”

If Tadej Pogačar ever retires, Seixas is seen as a natural successor. At UAE Team Emirates-XRG, they’re naturally also looking to their own Isaac Del Toro for that role, who finished third in this year’s Tour de France. De Cauwer is impressed by both young riders. “Seixas strikes me as more of a hard worker. Del Toro is a bit more playful. He’s also an enormous talent, but he is three years older, after all.”

The two young rivals have already engaged in fierce battles in the Tour, as well as at the GP Montréal, for example—something we’re sure to see more of in the future. But when asked who should succeed Pogačar, De Cauwer has a clear answer ready. “Seixas! Even before Del Toro.”