“He wouldn’t drop me”: De Vlaeminck downgrades Pogacar, questions Van der Poel and calls Evenepoel “arrogant”

Plenty happened in week 45, with the European Cyclo-cross Championships in Middelkerke bringing the weekend fireworks. But the loudest bang didn’t come from the Belgian coast—it came from restaurant Mie Katoen in Affligem, where 78-year-old Roger De Vlaeminck let fly in a chat with HLN. The “targets”? Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel, and Mathieu van der Poel.

De Vlaeminck needs no introduction in Belgium—especially on the road. While his late brother Erik De Vlaeminck set the standard in cyclo-cross with seven world titles, Roger himself also claimed a CX rainbow jersey. In 2025, Mathieu van der Poel drew level with Erik in Liévin; come early 2026, he could even make it eight.

On the road, Roger De Vlaeminck was the man in the 1970s: one of the few riders to win all five Monuments, a stage in all three Grand Tours, and silver at the Road Worlds—plus that one CX world title.

De Vlaeminck still speaks with pride about his own toolkit: “Nature gave me a lot: I could sprint, I could time trial, I could climb well enough… don’t forget I won tough mountain stages, eh." There was, however, one giant who overshadowed everyone: Eddy Merckx. De Vlaeminck is keen to remind the sport of that. "Pogačar as good as Merckx? Madness! Pogačar doesn’t even come close to Merckx!"

"Journalists who dare make that comparison don’t know a thing — write it down", he said. Okay, we'll write that down then, he also said it before. Pogacar has a lot of shortcomings compared to Merckx, De Vlaeminck believes.

“Make me 22 today and put me in the bunch with Pogačar, and he wouldn’t drop me. Where was it recently — when he rode away from Evenepoel? At Lombardy. On not even a difficult climb. As good as Merckx… come on.”

Pressed about his “sharp tongue”, De Vlaeminck didn’t soften—especially when Mathieu van der Poel came up. “I like him too. And he’s a great rider. But he can’t time trial, he can’t climb, he can’t sprint — there’s not much left, eh. I won mountain stages, time trials, I could sprint, for heaven’s sake.”

And Remco Evenepoel? The critique kept coming. “He’s not my type. A good rider, eh. A superb time trialist. But, I don’t know… I sometimes find him a bit arrogant. To cross the line and then lift your bike in the air… is that necessary? Just ride over the line and win, eh. Back in my day I’d give a little wave.”