Remco Evenepoel

This is the page about Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian is known as one of the greatest talents in the cycling peloton. In his first year, he had already won multiple major races. IDLProCycling.com keeps a close eye on all news related to Evenepoel along with maintaining a biography of his career.

Evenepoel from football team PSV to cycling team Deceuninck-Quick-Step

Remco Evenepoel, born on January 25, 2000, in Aalst, has had an extraordinary career trajectory. Up until the age of seventeen, he was actively involved in football, playing for the youth teams of PSV, Anderlecht, and the Belgian youth national teams. However, by mid-2017, he grew weary of football and made the switch to road cycling.

This turned out to be probably the best decision of Evenepoel's life, as he quickly showed himself to be a natural talent on the bike. In cycling races in the youth category, he accumulated a lot of victories and in 2018 won both the European and World Championships in cycling for juniors. The team at Deceuninck - Quick-Step didn't hesitate to offer the then eighteen-year-old Belgian a professional contract for 2019. By doing so, he skipped the under-23 category, a rare feat for cyclists.

Severe Crash halts Evenepoel's rise in cycling

In his first year with the pros, Evenepoel, as a nineteen-year-old rookie, immediately demonstrated his capabilities. He claimed the youth classification in the Tour of San Juan, his first race as a professional. His momentum continued with overall victories in the Tour of Belgium and the Clasica San Sebastian, an exceptional achievement for an inexperienced nineteen-year-old cyclist. He also became the European champion in time trial.

There was no doubt that Deceuninck - Quick-Step had struck gold with Evenepoel. The young Belgian was already one of the riders to watch in the peloton, despite his late switch to cycling and his young age. In 2020, he confirmed his abilities with four overall victories in four races, but a severe crash in the Tour of Lombardy abruptly ended his season. Evenepoel plummeted into a ravine and fractured his pelvis, but was actually fortunate that the injuries weren't more severe.

In 2021, he made his comeback in a major race: the Giro d'Italia, where everything revolved around him, but after a strong start, Evenepoel didn't quite achieve his goal. He eventually withdrew in the seventeenth stage following a crash, only to make a sensational return in the Baloise Belgium Tour.

Evenepoel establishes himself on the world stage 

The next target was the Tokyo Olympics, but there Evenepoel fell short in both the road race and time trial. He launched a daring attack in the road race, only to finish ninth against the clock. At the European Championships, he came in second and third, respectively, while he finished third in the World Time Trial Championships in Bruges. His return to the Tour of Lombardy that autumn marked the end of a difficult period, as Evenepoel set his sights on the Walloon classics and the Vuelta a España for 2022.

Evenepoel tackled these challenges impressively: although he didn't achieve his major spring goals (Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of the Basque Country), he ended the spring perfectly with a victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He then built momentum through a victory in the final time trial of the Tour of Switzerland and a win in the Clasica San Sebastian, leading up to the Vuelta, where he started as the absolute team leader. On the sixth day, Evenepoel captured the leader's jersey and held onto it all the way to Madrid, also winning two stages.

However, that victory was not all: from Spain, he flew directly to Australia for the World Cycling Championships. In the time trial, the Belgian won bronze, but a week later, he delivered a phenomenal performance in the road race. Evenepoel completed a long solo ride in spectacular fashion and spent the following weeks traveling for celebrations. He also married his girlfriend Oumi in the autumn of 2022.

A year as world champion proves fruitful for Evenepoel

As the world champion, he began his 2023 season in Argentina, then moved on to his first major goal: the UAE Tour. There, he impressively clinched the overall victory, then set his sights to through the Tour of Catalonia (finishing second behind Primoz Roglic despite two stage wins) and a resounding victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, on the primary objective in Italy. The Giro d'Italia was marked by the Belgian as his biggest ambition for the year.

On the first day, he made a phenomenal impact in the time trial, and after a few days, he handed over the pink jersey to Andreas Leknessund of DSM-firmenich. Evenepoel also won the second time trial on day nine, reclaiming the pink jersey. However, a bombshell was dropped afterward: Evenepoel was not feeling well, which turned out to be COVID-19, ultimately ending his dream of winning the Giro d'Italia.

A few weeks later, he resumed racing in the Tour of Switzerland, where he won the penultimate stage in memory of Gino Mäder, who tragically passed away during the race. He also triumphed in the Belgian National Championships, followed by victories in the Clasica San Sebastian and the World Time Trial Championships. These successes set the stage for the Vuelta a España, his second grand tour of the year. There, he miraculously won the first mountain stage, managing to stay upright despite a crash after the finish line. Evenepoel appeared to be the only rider capable of challenging the dominant Jumbo-Visma team, but that proved to be an illusion.

In the thirteenth stage towards the Tourmalet, Evenepoel dramatically lost ground, but remarkably, he bounced back in an aggressive role during the final week. He secured two stage victories, the mountain jersey, and gained valuable experience, which will undoubtedly serve him well in the lead-up to his first Tour de France in 2024.