"I didn't mean to blame Tim Declercq, it was just an unfortunate event in the race" - Remco Evenepoel apologises after post-Paris-Nice stage 3 outburst
CyclingWednesday, 06 March 2024 at 10:02
In a post-stage 3 interview with Sporza, Remco Evenepoel launched an outburst where he criticised former teammate, Tim Declercq for slowing him down in the team time-trial.
"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 lamented 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."
Having now cooled down slightly, Evenepoel has taken to social media in order to publicly apologise to Declercq.
"Mixed feelings today. Incredible work from the team resulting in a good time for the GC but disappointed that we could not finish it off because of the unlucky weather conditions," his post begins. "I didn't mean to blame Tim Declercq, it was just an unfortunate event in the race."
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- 100%. The "debacle" of deciding which of your three riders is going to win is much different and way better than the debacle of losing the Giro with a whimper on the last competitive stage.mobk03-06-2025
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Front24203-06-2025 - NO WAY UAE told anything to Del Toro about Simon Yates. Carapaz was the main focus and I'm confident UAE told Del Toro to stay calm and focus on his main rival only. This was the result.Knickout03-06-2025
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maria2024202403-06-2025 - 1. What happened on Finestre is almost entirely the fault of the team directors for UAE and EF. Yes, the riders have a say, but both teams allowed their riders to get locked into a lunatic stare down while the race went up the road. Both team cars should have seen what was happening and *ordered* their riders to snap out of it. 2. As for Wout, I think you underestimate the threat he represented. If Yates had gone over the top with almost any gap at all, once he got on Wout's wheel that lead was in peril. We've seen him do that very thing before, notably stage 5 2022 TDF, when he pulled nearly a minute back on Pog after Jonas had the bike fiasco. Again, that is why what happened is on the DS for UAE and EF. Their job is to see the situation for what it is, and they both should have known better than to let Wout get 10 minutes in the first place.MidnightRider03-06-2025
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I think although he apologised that he had a point. He should have made the comment more general. I watched/listened to a lot of the coverage and several times riders from other teams that had been dropped got in the way and caused a disruption. If I'm busy I have Disccovery+ multi audio on my laptop with no commentery while I work to hear what is going on in the peleton, As the camera bikes moved from team to team you could hear some members of the teams yelling get out the f***** way and similar.
I think is the passion and a heat of the moment. Not mature enough... Very emotional.... I like the way he attacks...
Remco has a tendency to blame others even if it is his fault and then apologizing. He is a uncontrolled motormouth. Like manager like Rider. It makes for news though
Funny thing: If you consider Evenepoel a worldclass, almost-never-seen-before, kinda like the real Cannibal, cyclist, comparable to more contemporary athletes, what stands out is his whining, innuendos. Never hear Vingegaard or Pogacar complain. These guys lose and will still see the fun they have on the bike. Come to think of it, Merckx never complained, either.