{"id":187121,"date":"2021-11-01T10:33:04","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T10:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=187121"},"modified":"2021-11-01T10:39:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T10:39:24","slug":"is-remco-evenepoel-cyclings-next-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2021\/11\/01\/is-remco-evenepoel-cyclings-next-superstar\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Remco Evenepoel Cycling\u2019s Next Superstar?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe. The 21-year-old Belgian rider clearly thinks so, but he knows that he has to improve.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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“I still have some steps to take before I can challenge [Tadej] Poga\u010dar, [Egan] Bernal and [Primo\u017e] Rogli\u010d, and above all be able to beat them,\u201d he told the Belgian daily La Derni<\/em>\u00e8<\/em>re Heure<\/em><\/a>. \u201cI hope it will be the case as of next season.”<\/p>\n

Not that the Deceuninck\u2013Quick-Step<\/a> rider had a bad 2021. His CV for the year includes victories in the Baloise Belgium Tour, the Tour of Denmark, the Brussels Cycling Classic and the Coppa Bernocchi, second place in the UEC European Road Championships Road Race and third in the Individual Time Trial (ITT) and a third place in the World Championships ITT.<\/p>\n

\"Remco<\/a>
Celebrating the Tour of Denmark win. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What makes these results even more impressive was that Evenepoel had suffered a fractured pelvis at Il Lombardia<\/a> in August 2020, which led to him being off the bike for eight months. He returned to road racing at the Giro D\u2019Italia, where he put in a solid performance, standing second in the GC before dropping out of contention in the mountains and abandoning after stage 17. That was his first taste of grand tour racing and remains his only experience so far of road racing\u2019s greatest challenge.<\/p>\n

Still, the past year was not without disappointments and well-publicised crises for Evenepoel, such as the run-up to the World Championships and the race itself.<\/p>\n

Evenepoel has been a star in the making since his performances as a 19-year-old, when he\u00a0won the junior men’s time trial<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0World Championships<\/a>\u00a0by over a minute and won 34 of the 44 races he competed in over a period of 18 months. This led some cycling aficionados to call him \u2018the next Eddy Merckx\u2019<\/a>. So, it came as a shock when the man himself slammed what he considered Evenepoel\u2019s lack of team spirit and suggested he shouldn\u2019t have been selected for the Belgian team for the 2021 Worlds.<\/p>\n

\"Remco<\/a>
Evenpoel’s triumph at Men Juniors Road Race. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“If there is only one leader, you really shouldn’t take Evenepoel,” Merckx said at the time. “He rides mainly for himself; we saw that at the Olympics.”<\/p>\n

Evenepoel was quick to respond, telling journalists at the Worlds: “[Merckx] always has to say something and that’s a shame. I have a lot of respect for Eddy and apparently that is not mutual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evenepoel ended up following team instructions to the letter in the road race, chasing down escapes and working for team leader Wout van Aert.<\/a> But it was in vain, as van Aert tired at the end, finishing 11th<\/sup>, while Evenepoel came in 49th<\/sup>. After the race, Evenepoel let it be known that he had the legs<\/a> to beat winner Julian Alaphilippe<\/a> if he\u2019d been allowed to ride his race.<\/p>\n

And what\u2019s more, Merckx agreed, sort of, telling Het Laatste Nieuws<\/em>\u00a0that the Belgians\u2019 great error at the Worlds was in team selection.<\/p>\n

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Beyond grateful to be at the start and finish @ilombardia<\/a> 2021. Case closed.
What an impressive ride of @fausto_masnada<\/a> ! #incredibile<\/a> #TheWolfpack<\/a> <\/p>\n

Photo: @GettySport<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9ms9aIgTDg<\/a><\/p>\n

— Remco Evenepoel (@EvenepoelRemco) October 9, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n