"It will be easier to win monuments than the Tour": Museeuw sends Evenepoel a clear reality check regarding his future goals

Remco Evenepoel has always been a rider who creates massive expectations and intense debates. Can he win Grand Tours or should he switch his focus to the classics? After his impressive third place at the Tour of Flanders, Belgian cycling legend Johan Museeuw believes that the young star needs to take a very realistic look at his long-term ambitions, warning him that chasing the yellow jersey might be too complicated in the current era.

Because he performed so well on the Belgian cobbles, the cycling public immediately started demanding to see him in even more one-day races. Speaking on the Domestique Hotseat podcast, Johan Museeuw noted how quickly the fans changed their expectations.

“He did great in Flanders. Third place after Pogacar and Van der Poel was really great,” Museeuw explained during the interview. “And then everybody say immediately, yeah now he has to do Roubaix.”

Museeuw did not completely rule out the idea of Evenepoel racing the Hell of the North at some point in his career. However, he strongly underlined the very specific and dangerous demands of the French event. For a rider who wants to compete in stage races later in the summer, taking heavy physical risks in April is not always a smart choice.

“Roubaix you have a little bit more risk,” the cycling legend said about the brutal race, before adding: “Maybe one day he will do Roubaix. But it’s not yet the moment.”

Instead of focusing on the rough French cobblestones right now, Museeuw knows that Evenepoel's mind is completely focused on a much different prize. Like almost every top-level stage racer in the professional peloton, the young Belgian dreams of winning the most famous and prestigious bicycle race on the planet. “In his head he’s thinking about the Tour de France,” Museeuw explained about the rider's current mindset. “To win or to be on the podium.”

However, wanting to win the Tour de France and actually being able to do it are two very different things. As a three-time Paris-Roubaix winner who knows exactly what it takes to reach the top of the sport, Museeuw was completely honest in his assessment of Evenepoel's chances in the big stage races. “My opinion, it will be easier to win monuments than to win the Tour de France for him,” Museeuw said openly. “To win the Tour de France will be not so easy.”

According to the Belgian icon, the main problem for Evenepoel is not his own physical talent, but rather the incredibly high level set by the sport’s most dominant Grand Tour riders. Right now, the race for the yellow jersey is completely controlled by two riders who have set a new historical standard for climbing mountains. “With Vingegaard and Pogacar… it will be complicated,” he added.

Because beating those two giants in a Grand Tour is so complicated, Museeuw believes Evenepoel should seriously consider shifting his long-term focus. The older Belgian feels that Evenepoel’s specific physical profile is perfectly suited to the massive one-day races.

“To win monuments like Flanders, like Amstel Gold Race… he has a big chance to do that,” Museeuw concluded.