"He may be an ex-teammate, but you don't do something like that" - Remco Evenepoel fumes at Tim Declercq following Paris-Nice team time-trial
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel was confident pre-stage ahead of the stage 3 team time-trial at Paris-Nice 2024, eyeing up a move into the Maillot Jaune. Sadly for the Belgian, that's not quite how things turned out.
Although things started well with Soudal - Quick-Step quickest at the intermediate time check, a mid-stage rain shower drastically changed things. Post-stage, Evenepoel was also incredibly critical of Tim Declercq, former teammate of the Soudal - Quick-Step leader, now riding for Lidl-Trek. "He stayed ahead of us in a technical corner and didn't move out of the way. A thank you to him. That was really nasty," Evenepoel laments to Sporza. "Tim may have been an ex-teammate, but you don't do something like that. Did he do it on purpose? I hope not, but it is possible."
"We had a twenty second lead over UAE at the intermediate point and you can hardly lose any time on the way down. But it's simple: the rain has fallen and the wind has shifted," Evenepoel's disappointment continues. "There are some technical bends in the last kilometres. If you can take it at full speed, it saves four to five seconds per corner. It didn't go well for us. When you see that we outclass everyone in the first part of the time trial, it proves that our team is super good."
"Rain never plays to your advantage. Then you will lose time in the corners anyway, but not the amount of seconds we are now losing to the winner UAE. So we can't just blame it on the weather," adds sports director, Koen Pilgrim. "I have not yet been able to examine the men's data, so I cannot draw any firm conclusions yet."
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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Soudal Quick-Step finishes fourth in #ParisNice, a result which sees @EvenepoelRemco gain time on many of his general classification opponents. Photo: A.S.O./Billy Ceusters
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