CONFIRMED: Remco Evenepoel makes Tour of Flanders debut this Sunday against Pogacar, van der Poel et al.

It is April the 1st, however it would be wild to assume that this would be an April Fool's joke. Remco Evenepoel is racing the Tour of Flanders, which he announced on social media this Wednesday morning, a wildly anticipated moment after the Belgian has made his pro debut in 2019.

On an Instagram post shared by Evenepoel and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, the Olympic Champion has confirmed his participation. This followed the report from Wielerflits this Tuesday that Evenepoel was going to be taking part in the team's recon of the Flanders course on Thursday. The Belgian media quickly swarmed their star and as was the case last summer, there was a preference over not keeping the open secret a secret for long, but instead let it out in the open and not have to put the team and himself through the swarm of 'will he, will he not' questions. Evenepoel is racing 'De Ronde' for the first time in his career.

Last year this was teased as he did a late ride on the roads alongside Gianni Vermeersch, however this was coincidental, as he still lives in the area on an occasional basis. But this year it was not comparable, as Evenepoel last year was training at the time; whilst this time around he had just finished the Volta a Catalunya and would on paper return to his home in Spain, much closer and a better environment to continue his preparation towards the Ardennes classics. Hence, his trip to Belgium at this specific moment was too much of a coincidence.

The messaging has been odd, with this debut being heavily rumoured early in the winter but being put aside after his schedule reveal. The schedule did however have this hole between Catalunya and the Ardennes where a Flanders participation was a big possibility, as he is not doing a second altitude camp and has a three-week gap, whilst Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe don't have a set leader for the Flandrien monument.

The rumour that he would race it was dismissed countless times within the week. Even this morning, journalist Daniel Benson was told Evenepoel would not race Flanders, whilst the opposite decision had already been made. This lifts the question as well on for how long it had been made, as it is very possible that Red Bull dismissed the debut so as to keep pressure away from Evenepoel.

However it brings a whole new dimension to the race, with a rider that on paper, follows a similar path to that of Tadej Pogacar into the race, and will be the ultimate wildcard. Evenepoel doesn't have much experience in the cobbled classics but Flanders has become more of a set of short climbing tests, where he could thrive.

His specialty in one-day races is not a coincidence, as he is masterful in the execution of solo attacks, has the endurance, tactical knowhow and the climbing ability to make the difference at any point in the race. He can be a serious threat even to the likes of Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, who can't afford to let the time trial World Champion go up the road by himself at any point.