"A nice gesture": Remco Evenepoel partners with bpost one year after career-threatening crash

A little over a year ago, a bpost delivery van was the source of one of Remco Evenepoel's darkest professional moments. A training accident in December 2024 involving an open door left the Belgian star with severe injuries, derailing his season for months. However, that same company has been unveiled recently as a major financial backer for his youth development project.

In a remarkable turnaround, the Belgian postal service has committed to becoming a co-headline sponsor of the R.EV Brussels Cycling Academy for the 2026 season. The relationship between the rider and the company began under the worst possible circumstances. Evenepoel missed the start of the 2025 season after colliding with a car door that swung open in his path.

However, rather than resulting in a bitter legal feud, the incident sparked a dialogue on safety. This initially led to the "Remco Reflex" campaign, an initiative that distributed 100,000 stickers for car side mirrors to remind drivers to check for cyclists before opening their doors.

"We all found it very important to give it a positive spin," explained bpost spokesperson Mathieu Goedefroy in words gathered by HLN. "From there grew the idea that perhaps we could mean even more to each other. On a longer, permanent basis.

Discussions between Remco’s father, Patrick Evenepoel, and bpost CEO Chris Peeters quickly moved beyond safety stickers to a broader partnership. Both parties realized that the mission of Evenepoel's academy (to get young people from Brussels, often from difficult backgrounds, onto bikes) aligned with the company's employment philosophy.

"The Academy puts Brussels youth, often from underprivileged backgrounds, on bikes," Goedefroy noted. "We help 26,000 employees from all walks of life... Social inclusion is the code word in the collaboration."

"Very often, these are entry-level jobs in the sorting center for people who, for example, have just arrived in Belgium, don't speak the language, and don't have any diplomas. This way, they learn Dutch, make friends, and integrate smoothly into our society."

For Evenepoel, the sponsorship is a welcome boost for a project that is quickly growing. "A nice gesture," the Olympic champion said. "It's nice that bpost wants to contribute in this way. The more sponsors we get, the better. It can only benefit the future of our project."

Crucially, the deal shows that Evenepoel has fully moved on from the accident that threatened his career. "Everything turned out pretty well in the end," he reflected. "I no longer have to think about what happened in the past, I can look forward again. That makes it only positive."

The funding will support a team that is already delivering results. The academy's U19 squad secured 20 victories in 2025, including a win at the junior Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. The 2026 roster was presented at the bpost sorting center in Brussels and includes high-potential talents such as Dutch cyclocross champion Noël Goijert and returning riders Rayane Arifi and Mathieu Levaque.

"This is something we can certainly build on," Evenepoel concluded. "Although the most important thing is that these young people have fun."