"I did not see in him a future Tour de France winner" - Expert unconvinced by Remco Evenepoel despite podium on debut
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel made his long awaited Tour de France debut in 2024, silencing a lot of his doubters and keeping pace with Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard for much of the race. In the end, the Soudal - Quick-Step leader finished 3rd overall, took a stage victory and claimed the White Jersey for Best Young Rider.
Add to that some brilliant performances elsewhere across the 2024 season, including making history at the Paris Olympic Games as he won gold in both the individual time trial and the men's road race, 2024 was a big season for the Belgian. "It certainly is. It's a great season and we learned last month that his real best year will come next year when he turns 26. Then he will be at his peak," assesses cycling expert Jan Hermsen in the latest episode of Eurosport's Kop over Kop podcast. "It's hard to top what he did this year."
Despite the standout season for Evenepoel in 2024, Hermsen isn't fully convinced the Belgian is ever going to good enough to end the long wait for a Belgian Maillot Jaune winner. "What he did at the Olympics is fabulous. That has to do with the fact that he rode a good Tour. But he does finish ten minutes behind Pogacar," he notes thoughtfully. "I don't see where he's going to make up for that in the next few years if Pogacar stays as strong and Vingegaard gets better again."
"I think those two are going to come out on top. Then you have to be very happy with such a super year and hope that one of the Galacticos does not appear at the start of the Tour," Hermsen concludes. "I have not become convinced, despite his third-place finish, that he will ever take that Tour win. I did not see in him a future Tour winner."
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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- 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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