"I did get the impression he had put on a little weight" - Patrick Lefevere on why Evenepoel hasn't performed on Montréal road race
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel is one of the main favourites to win the 2026 European Championships. But his form in the road races is uncertain, something which Patrick Lefevere attributes to the struggle in losing weight late in the year.
Evenepoel rode to fifth at the GP de Montréal and 12th at the World Championships. Whilst he was present in both races, he appeared to lack the climbing legs that he showed earlier in the year, when finishing second at the Tour de France and winning the Clásica San Sebastián.
Evenepoel won the time trial World Championships, but his run in the road race since his rest period has not reached the expectations put on him.
"A week later, something was suddenly missing. Don't get me wrong: he wasn't bad, but he certainly wasn't the Remco we saw in Wollongong or San Sebastián two months ago," Patrick Lefevere, former team manager of Evenepoel, said in his weekly Het Nieuwsblad column.
"You could see him suffering. The difference compared to the past was that he kept fighting and never gave up".
Evenepoel still raced aggressively at the end of the world championships' road race, but was not able to crack the Top10 in a finale where he couldn't make the difference.
"Had he not fully recovered from the time trial? That’s hardly possible, given there was a full week in between. He had also been in Canada for a long time, so in principle, he was fully acclimatized."
Remco Evenepoel is a favourite to win the European Championships
Lefevere on Evenepoel's weight
Lefevere believes that the reason for Evenepoel's lack of victories in his big goal was due to his weight. Historically, the Belgian has required long preparation periods to reach his ideal race weight for climbing efforts.
During the spring a similar situation developed, as he thrived in the more explosive classics, but was nowhere near the climbing level he would later on show at the Tour de France.
"But looking at him, I did get the impression he had put on a little weight. I know him well, and you could tell from his face that he didn't look quite as sharp."
"Remco has always had to work hard to maintain his ideal racing weight. Perhaps he did ease off a bit after winning that world title in the time trial".
Read also
Evenepoel's less than ideal post-Tour
Evenepoel has had a strong and successful year, and late in the season it is possible that he has not been able to get down to the desired numbers towards the Montréal circuit which favoured climbers.
"That would only be human. You achieve a major goal, your wife and parents are there to celebrate with you, and the tension lifts. Naturally, you let off a bit of steam."
"The fact that his World Championship didn't go as hoped doesn't mean he can't win the European Championship this Sunday," Lefevere assured.
"Another week has passed since then, and lessons have undoubtedly been learned. Everyone knows Remco is a collector of jerseys."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- An emotional goodbye when Mezgec stepped off his bike just now. Yesterday’s farewell to Quintana was touching and beautiful, and this moment with Mezgec is fabulous as well. I like that we honor those that managed to inspire and win and keep going even as cycling changed and changed and changed.RidesHills04-10-2026
- At visma riders, coaches and staff are leaving mid contract its not hard to get their falling apart lol... If you can read they can win when the best dont show up. Giro and vuelta is secondary. Thats exactly what im saying their not top 3 anymore RBH and LIld have better rosters its just facts. Vs the best Visma have no teeth in TDF etc vs the best their irrelevant there Jonas constantly isolated etc and it wont get better cause visma is broke compared to the other top 3 teams. UAE obv in their own league but RBH asnd lidl above visma now too for top 3. Its just facts and not hard to see at all, very telling aswell when riders, coaches and staff leave mid contracts the rest goes without saying..miguel04-10-2026
- Yesuree, Remco got a big mental slap in Kigali. He was kicking water bottles and crying. Even his cousin was making fun of him...ha ha ha ha ha ha ...PogiSloFans04-10-2026
- Ah yes, what a completely 'dismal' season Visma LAB have had. How terrible of them to casually win Paris-Roubaix, the Giro d'Italia plus 6 stages, Paris-Nice, Volta a Catalunya, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the Tour of Denmark, and a staggering 7 stages plus the Green Jersey at the Vuelta, not to mention the myriad of other races they've bagged this season. If winning a monument and Grand Tour titles is a 'free fall,' half the peloton (including Ineos) would love to plummet off that cliff. Check the actual calendar before inventing your own reality, Mou.anonymouscyclist04-10-2026
- Could be worse, like Visma. Staff, riders and coaches all leaving mid contract. Visma is in free fall look in TDF how irrelevant they are now..vuelta and small races only place they can compete if the bset dont arrive these days its sad.miguel04-10-2026
- Thats just factually wrong. (also if we just remove the best rider on a certain team is a fictual thing to say in the first place and shows how delulu and far off reality ur take is, doesnt work klike that UAE bread and made pogacra into best ever his domestiques beat other captains for fun in montreal and wc - cant have fictioon in the debate if you wanne be taken serious thats not how reality works) Take away pogacar and uae still far ahead on UCI points...look montreal other teams captains cant win vs UAE domestiques haha in both montrela and WC its crazy - the rest simply got some job do tod. RBH and Lidl are closest tho as of now. Besides if you look further Visma isnt top 3. Roster of RBH and Lidl way better. In fact visma boss out saying they struggle and cant keep up financially and it show. They have no climbers on the team no top 10 in TDF even when jonas is out says it all, also jonas was isolated non stop when other team wasnt, its really easy to get Visma is falling apart and not a top 3 team anymore. Dude staff and riders are fleeing away from visma and quit mid contract...something is off.miguel04-10-2026
- The mental slap he got in Kigali will remain with him for a long time and it’s not that he was having that bad a day seeing how few riders were faster. Seems a lot of people like to push stuff under carpets, and as we seem to always have to connect everything to America these days (isn’t MAGAA better in retrospect? Make America Get Attention Again) isn’t it funny how fast people stopped discussing the assasination, it’s almost as if it’s been normalised.Jumpyjohn04-10-2026
- Thomas is killing this team......
Senna196004-10-2026 - Thank you, almost as if someone reads my posts ;-) The trouble with cycling news is people focus more on form than content. I know there isn’t always much but sometimes the missing is quite interesting and important to understand the scene.Jumpyjohn04-10-2026
- I couldn't find the race broadcast anywhere so highlights will have to do. I have watched, several times, the rider send-off for Nairo Quintana, and I still haven't made it through without getting choked up. It's a beautiful tradition in a beautiful sport. Nairo was a champion and a gentleman. I'll miss him.megasmacky04-10-2026
Loading
Write a comment