“He was in pain, slept badly, and was allowed to do nothing but rest” – Remco Evenepoel’s coach provides update on golden boy’s fitness
Cycling
The road cycling season is well and truly underway in 2025.
Races such as the UAE Tour, Volta ao Algarve, and the Tour Down Under have
already taken place, but this weekend marks the true start of the season with
the Opening Weekend at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
While Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard have already
started their campaigns, the man who stood on the podium with them at last
year’s Tour de France is still awaiting his season debut. Following a freak
crash with a van in December, Remco Evenepoel has yet to begin his year.
2024 was the best season of Evenepoel’s career, claiming a
Tour de France stage win and the white jersey on his way to third place in the
general classification on debut. He also became the first man ever to win
double Olympic gold in both the time trial and road race in the same Games
before defending his world time trial title in Zurich in September. However,
his momentum was halted by the December crash.
Speaking to In De Leiderstrui, Koen Pelgrim, his
coach at Soudal-Quick Step, provided insight into Evenepoel’s progress.
When asked about the riders he coaches, Pelgrim responded, "I
have Remco, who nine of my ten interviews are about, haha. But I also train the
now returned Maximilian Schachmann, Ilan Van Wilder, Ethan Hayter, Martin
Svrček, and Mikel Landa."
On why he believes he is such a popular coach, Pelgrim
remarked "I have no idea actually, haha. You try to do your job as well as
possible and if the guys are satisfied with that, then that's a nice
compliment.
“In his previous period, I had a nice collaboration with
Schachmann, a guy who also has his own ideas and who likes to put them on the
table. But he's not too stubborn either, if you have a different idea about
that."
Pelgrim also discussed his coaching philosophy, "I
don't think I'm a prototypical Dutchman, in that respect. You do learn to deal
with the different cultures and characters of people. There are riders here who
come from all over the world, with different manuals. You have to deal with
that differently every time, to get the best out of it.
“You have to have your own way of working, but also respond
to how a rider is put together and how you can motivate or slow him down. You
don't always do the same thing, I really adapt to the personality and qualities
of an individual."
"They are all very different. Remco has a certain
character, a real winner. Schachmann has that too, but there are also guys who
are different. I like it when riders have ideas of their own and that you can
spar with them. That way you come up with a plan that everyone fully supports.
“If you have a rider who thinks everything is fine and does
it alone, then that is a nice confidence, but I think you can really be your
best self if you also provide input yourself. You can't always smell what is
going on inside someone. You try to bring that out in conversations, but the
feedback from a rider is very important. Riders who are very direct, I like
that."
Soudal - Quick-Step were one of the best teams in 2024
Maximilian Schachmann’s return to Soudal-Quick Step this
winter was partly due to the presence of Pelgrim. The German praised his coach
in an interview with In De Leiderstrui, "He is first and foremost a funny and nice person. The
coach is the person you have the most contact with, almost daily.
"It is very
important that you understand each other on a personal level, but Koen mainly
does his homework well. I don't know anything about science, but he knows what
he is doing."
Pelgrim also explained his approach to working with riders, "Of
course, sometimes you have a different idea about something, but that should be
possible. I'm not someone who imposes everything from above and tells the rider
to just listen. I don't get angry quickly.
“The job of a trainer is also to convince a rider why you
prescribe certain training sessions and put them on the program. You have to
come to an agreement among yourselves, a rider has to feel good and not be
afraid of you. Then you'll never get the best out of it."
"Of course, you analyse afterwards with the riders and
sometimes adjust your plans based on that. They are still people and not
robots. We have a certain conviction, but we do not know everything. Some
things work for most riders, but it also happens that they do not work for one
rider.
“Then you are talking about altitude training camps, for
example, where after two or three times we sometimes had to conclude that it
did not really have any added value. Then we try it in a different way next
year. That evaluation is important, you have to adjust when necessary and not
stubbornly stick to one vision."
So, how is Remco doing after his setback in December?
"Falling is never fun. You've had an offseason and are
just starting to rebuild and then you have such a stupid fall. First of all,
you're affected by it, because you feel that something is wrong. And then it
turns out later that the damage is quite extensive, which means you're out
longer than you initially thought. It was setback after setback for Remco, so
he wasn't happy about it.
“In the beginning, it was difficult because he couldn't do
anything. He was in pain, slept badly, and was allowed to do nothing but rest.
That period lasted quite a long time, but when he was allowed to train again,
he made that click again and looked ahead. He was making progress every day, so
I noticed that that switch was quickly flipped, with a goal to work towards
every day."
"I don't think it was a breaking point. He's back at
work and when he's back in competition, we'll see a good Remco again. Setbacks
are never fun and if they happen too often, it's not good for the head. But I
don't think that's the case at the moment."
2025 is set to be a crucial year for Evenepoel. He has now
firmly established himself as the third-best general classification rider, but
can he close the gap on Pogacar and Vingegaard? If he can reach the level he
displayed at the Olympics, the answer might just be yes.
Pelgrim also commented on his experience working with GC
riders.
"Some years you work with a fixed group and sometimes
riders leave, which allows you to take on others. For example, I worked with
the sprinters within the team for years, with Kittel, Gaviria, Jakobsen, Hodeg,
Bennett, I was also involved with that and that went well."
"Training a climber is almost easier, because you're
only training for one characteristic. A sprinter is more complicated, you have
multiple variables. You have to have the explosiveness and speed, but also the
content to be able to do your thing in the final. If you do that too much, it
will be at the expense of the speed, so that's a difficult balance. That was
always an interesting puzzle to solve. Both have their challenges."
Pelgrim emphasised that the team is not solely built around
Evenepoel.
"It's not that I train those guys in function of Remco.
But the build-up of those guys is often similar, especially towards a Tour de
France. For example, you do a lot of training camps together, which makes it
easier to coach all those guys the whole year."
"We can no longer call Mikel a surprise if he rides at
the front somewhere. He has been very consistent for years. We think he will do
that this year too. Ilan had a very good winter and he showed things in
training that he could not do last year.
"So he is at least as far along, but we
hope that he has taken a step forward. He was already fourth in the UAE and
Romandie, so if you take a small step there, you can suddenly ride on the
podium in those kinds of competitions. That will do a lot for him mentally."
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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