Remco Evenepoel unfazed by fourth place at Il Lombardia: 'I’m not someone who gives up easily'

Evenepoel was not far behind Seixas when the young Frenchman picked up the pace. The Belgian rider from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe immediately set his own pace, allowing him to rejoin the group battling for fourth place. There, Evenepoel won the sprint by a wide margin.

"What Seixas did was incredibly impressive. It was a well-deserved victory," he said, praising the young Frenchman, before moving on to discuss his own match on VTM.

"I felt good all day. Everything went according to plan and we had everything under control, but during the last hour of the race, I didn’t feel my best anymore. My legs were getting heavy. It wasn’t my best day on the bike, but it wasn’t my worst either. We have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” said Evenepoel.

The fact that the Belgian still managed to secure fourth place says a lot about the kind of person he is. “I’m not someone who gives up easily. I didn’t come here for fourth place, but I didn’t ride home either. There wasn’t much more I could do. I always want to win, but my legs just wouldn’t let me.”

While many riders wrapped up their season at Lake Como, that wasn’t the case for Evenepoel. He’ll be racing the Chrono des Nations in France next week. “It’s been a long season. Over the summer, I went from having some really good days to some not-so-good ones. Next week, I’ll give it my all for three-quarters of an hour one last time, and then it’s over,” he concludes.