Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert torn apart by the Belgian media: 'Biggest disappointment of the decade'
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Follow us on GoogleWith sky-high expectations—and even higher pressure—the Belgian team headed to Montreal. For the Belgians, only one thing mattered: the rainbow jersey. But when it came down to it, Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel simply weren’t quite good enough to contend for the world title in Canada. And that has earned them a fair amount of criticism.
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The Belgian media have been harsh. La Dernière Heure is still somewhat lenient. “The Belgian team, which was considered the clear favourite at the World Championships in Montreal, failed to live up to expectations but made no excuses,” the Walloon publication reports. “The magnitude of a disappointment is often proportional to the height of expectations. The dream team was American.”
Het Nieuwsblad did emphasise, however, that it had been a fantastic World Championship. “With 50 kilometers to go, it was clear that Eddy Merckx would have no Belgian successor in Montreal. The Belgians simply didn’t play the role they thought they would. Others were just better—that’s all. Although we saw a fantastic race, it still leaves a bitter aftertaste.”
The Flemish also know that the public’s expectations may have been a bit too high: after all, there was plenty of competition. “You never become world champion just like that, but we had expected more from the Belgian team. Van Aert and Evenepoel both gave it their all, but didn’t stand a chance at the world title. And that’s hard to accept.”
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Belgians fall short: 'the biggest disappointment of the decade'
Het Laatste Nieuws takes a much harsher stance. “The Belgians were there just for show. With 65 kilometers to go, Wout van Aert’s world championship hopes were already over. Five kilometers later, Remco Evenepoel also had to throw in the towel when Paul Seixas and Isaac Del Toro dropped him for the first time on the climb. The overwhelming favourite struggled through the rest of the day, and after that, the Belgians just had to ride for a pittance.”
José De Cauwer had previously criticized the Belgians as well, though he didn’t think it was a complete failure. But Evenepoel, in particular, was a disappointment. “The course didn’t lie. A strong Remco with good legs can handle that. But at a certain point, it became clear that it was going to be tough when he was lagging behind in the chasing group.”
But the harshest criticism came from the French-speaking part of the country. Sudinfo later called it “the biggest disappointment in cycling this year, perhaps even of the decade. Belgium is used to playing a major role in every edition, which has never been the case in Montreal.”
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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