Evenepoel's national team coach on European Championships: What was said in the final stretch?
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Follow us on GoogleRemco Evenepoel completed his collection of championship jerseys on Sunday at the European Cycling Championships, but it also marked the first title for national team coach Serge Pauwels. Pauwels provided his team leader with key information during the final kilometres and was ultimately able to celebrate as well.
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Pressure to win has been lifted from the Belgium team's shoulders
You can imagine that Pauwels was nervous in that head-to-head final stretch, but now the pressure has been lifted from his shoulders.
Read more below the photo!
The sprint, and title, came down to a photo finish
“Well, I feel very proud. Last week was, of course, a disappointment, and expectations were very high, both for Remco himself and for the entire team,” he told CyclingProNet, referring to the World Championships in Canada, where things didn’t go according to plan.
"I think our team showed tremendous resilience after last week. This was a new game and a new opportunity, and we approached it with a great sense of responsibility. I also don't think we let what happened last week hold us back too much. We took responsibility, took control of the race, and it worked out fantastically.”
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Sprint finish came down the the final millimetre
"It wasn't until the last kilometre that I wasn't entirely sure about the sprint. We know that Ciccone is also very fast, and based on the TV footage in the support car, we thought for a moment that we'd been beaten."
"We were actually on the detour during the sprint," Pauwels explained, describing how he experienced the thrilling final stretch in Slovenia. "Because of that, I could hardly believe it, even when I saw the footage on TV. It was really a matter of millimetres."
Read more below the video!
Team car stuck behind peloton at moment of crash
Earlier in the race, Evenepoel’s crash had already caused quite a bit of tension in the Belgian Cycling support car.
“We couldn’t really do much about that either, because we were stuck in the peloton behind all the other cars. Plus, it’s a narrow road there.”
"But we soon saw that he was back on his bike right away. We know he rides with a specific gear ratio and a single chainring, so we were mainly hoping the rear derailleur would hold up, since he fell on his right side. Fortunately, the damage turned out to be quite minor overall,” said the national team manager.
What was said by Pauwels in final stretch?
In the final kilometres, he managed to catch up to Evenepoel for a moment, and they exchanged a few words.
“That the gap to Scarponi was fifty seconds, and that he might have to ease off a bit in the final kilometre to stay fresh for the sprint. After all, we knew that Ciccone wasn’t cooperating at the front anymore. In the end, the gap was fortunately enough at the finish line.'
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Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- - Un poco corto en la parte técnica de la bici de McNulty, no? Colnago nero con detalles arcoíris suena brutal — queremos más fotos, per favore.pedalpowe2902-10-2026
- - Demi finally gets her stripes! Team Oranje tactics on point again — recon, lead-out, and that patient regroup. Textbook. Chapeau.sprocketspiny02-10-2026
- - Wait, does the world champ jersey apply to all disciplines or just road race? Can McNulty wear it in a TT too, or is that only if he won the TT worlds?davidm02-10-2026
- - Brilliant coverage. The early flight back to beat jet lag is elite-level thinking. Those marginal gains matter before a punchy Euros course.samanthak02-10-2026
- - Not sure the “surprised everyone” line about McNulty is fair. He’s been knocking on the door all season in one-day races and TTs. Emilia in rainbows is going to slap.patriciaw02-10-2026
- - Love seeing the rainbow bands back on Slovenian roads. Demi looks sharp in that kit. Hope she gets a full custom bike soon, not just a tiny stripe under the seatpost. Come on, give the champ a proper paint job!cadencekingm02-10-2026
- - Quick one: why can’t McNulty wear the rainbow at Euros? Is it only for world champs from Europe or something about national teams vs trade teams?lindae02-10-2026
- - That Dutch masterclass was something else. Vollering timed that second move perfectly after the first dig didn’t stick. Proper teamwork — Wiebes and the crew deserve as much credit as Demi.julien02-10-2026
- - Boonen’s line about trusting teammates is gold. World’s is chess, not crit. Belgium tried to cover every scenario and covered none. Harsh lesson, but needed before next year.samanthak02-10-2026
- - Great read, but the piece leans a bit too harsh on Wout for me. He wasn’t at leader-level form, true, yet the team didn’t set up a plan B well enough. Segaert the bright spot, agreed.julien02-10-2026
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