“Impossible for anyone to follow... Tadej Pogacar will not keep doing this forever” - Tom Boonen defends under-fire Remco Evenepoel amid spring criticism

The reaction to Liège-Bastogne-Liège was immediate and familiar. Remco Evenepoel dropped on La Redoute as Tadej Pogacar surged clear, with Paul Seixas the only rider able to stay closest to that decisive move. The gap remained, and the questions returned just as quickly.

For Tom Boonen, that entire line of thinking is flawed from the outset. Because if the benchmark is Pogacar at full tilt, then the conclusion is already skewed.

The core criticism aimed at Evenepoel this spring has been straightforward: he has not closed the gap. That was the expectation attached to his move and his trajectory, and Liège appeared to reinforce the idea that the gap still exists.

Boonen does not dispute the gap. He disputes the way it is being used. “His level? I think it is the same or even better than last year,” he explained in conversation with Sporza on Wielerclub Wattage. “But those other two have taken a step that may be impossible for anyone else in the world to follow.”

He also pointed to the broader context around Evenepoel’s season and environment. “But give Remco some time, because it’s only his first year with his new team,” Boonen added. “The mayonnaise just needs to come together.”

That combination reframes the entire discussion. If the level being set at the very top is currently out of reach for everyone, and Evenepoel is still settling into a new structure, then judging him purely against Pogacar becomes less a fair assessment and more an unrealistic standard.

Lost in the reaction to Liège is the broader shape of Evenepoel’s spring. A win at Amstel Gold Race, a podium at the Tour of Flanders on debut, and consistent presence in the biggest races point to a rider expanding his range rather than stalling.

Boonen’s reading reflects that. “I think Remco has ridden a very strong spring. This spring, Remco has discovered things he perhaps didn’t know he was capable of,” says the Belgian icon.

That idea of discovery is important. It suggests development rather than limitation, even if the headline result at Liège told a different story.

There is, however, a reason the criticism has stuck. Pogacar’s dominance is not a one-off. It has been sustained across the spring, and that consistency has made the gap feel definitive.

Boonen acknowledged that perception. “Don’t compare yourself to Pogacar and Seixas from last Sunday in Liège. Because that is just a moment in time, even if that moment has been lasting a while.”

It is a subtle distinction, but an important one. A dominant phase can look like a fixed hierarchy, even when it is not.

Where Boonen goes further is in projecting what happens next. “But one day that moment will end. Pogacar will not keep doing this forever. And then that could turn into victories for Remco.”

That is not a dismissal of Pogacar’s level, but a reminder of how quickly cycling can shift. Dominance, even at its most convincing, is rarely permanent.