After more Pogacar dominance at Il Lombardia, Remco Evenepoel insists "If anyone can close the gap, it's me"
Cycling
Despite being far better than the rest of the pack at Il Lombardia 2024, Remco Evenepoel himself was dominated once again by Tadej Pogacar. Nevertheless, the Belgian leaves Italy somewhat contented by his efforts.
“I am very satisfied,” insists a smiling Soudal - Quick-Step leader in his post-race interview, having come home around three minutes down on his race-winning rival. “I got the most out of it. Tadej was outstanding again and I finished far ahead of the rest behind me. A bit in line with the Tour de France, actually.”
Although everyone in the race expected a Pogacar attack on the Colma di Sormano, once it came, Evenepoel was simply unable to react to the sheer brutality of the Slovenian's acceleration. "He went on the steepest part and I knew immediately that I couldn't blow myself up," Evenepoel explains. "That turned out to be the right choice. After that I took quite a few risks downhill and that way I was able to increase my lead on Enric Mas and Lennert van Eetvelt. If you come second with a big gap to the winner but also a big lead on the third, then no mistakes have been made."
So again, it's a distant second behind Evenepoel. As such, he feels there is certainly room to improve ahead of next season despite his own individual brilliance in 2024. "I just have to accept that. It's been like that all season, right? The thing now is to work hard throughout the winter and try to close the gap. If anyone has that in them, it's me," the Belgian puts forward determinedly. "I just have to keep the confidence in myself and the team and not lose hope."
First though, time for some well-earned rest. “It has been a long season, especially without a break in the middle of the season because of that crash. At the beginning of the week it didn't look so good, but today I had a good day again. That shows that the form is not gone. That is positive for next year. If I can get through the season without problems, I can compete for the win here,” he concludes.
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- The guy has changed teams so often they are not sure what one is currently his.Cyclingsbestfan25-03-2025
- Do you honestly not have a picture of Ewan in his correct team kit?JoBro25-03-2025
- that sounds right. at Roubaix, any of the strong riders who has better luck than the other elites can win. not the case at flanders, where THE strongest almost always wins. (which means rvv will be either tadej or mathieu.)OCexile25-03-2025
- Yes try riding same distances as themen as courses as hard. No point wanting same money if you are not putting the miles and same work in.paultryan200225-03-2025
- Come on, shorter stages, easier stages, less stages, easier one day races, shorter one day races, far lesser competition, slower speed, lack of bike handling skills and strategy … you can demand equality where it is due.. but that is rather not the case here. The men’s race was 20x more entertaining, so receiving 10x less is rather fair.
UltimateOpportunist25-03-2025 - this is officially the stupidest article i’ve ever read about cycling, or maybe anything else. i want those 2 minutes of my life back…OCexile25-03-2025
- I agree, this article is silly. Pogacar won that TdF because he was stronger than Roglic on the time trial not because he was unknown. Each rider has their own strengths and ride to those. Each of the classics and monuments have their own unique features that the riders must strategize.GB25-03-2025
- Yes, I think he still has a lot to say in road cycling. In the CX races he showed a very good gear but... the problem was essentially his NERVOUSNESS then he took bad decisions in finding the best strategies and paths. He needs confidence (calm down) and maybe a very good preparation gave him that.
maria2024202425-03-2025 - I don't believe so sadly, much as pulling another rider into that group I think Tadej and MVDP have raised the game so far they are essentially untouchable. The spoils of this season will be split between them, I believe Tadej will take RVV, LBL and Lombardia, MVDP MSR and Roubaix. I'm not even sure Remco will be at their level when he comes back. Tadej and MVDP are just a step above everyone elseslappers6625-03-2025
- Tadej and MVDP bring that panache back to cycling that we missed right through the Armstrong years, the Sky years and to an extent the couple of Visma tour wins. Whole team blocking a race, no attacking, no excitement till the leaders jumped away in KMslappers6625-03-2025