"It's a shame" - Remco Evenepoel disappointed with the recruitment of Soudal - Quick-Step

Remco Evenepoel is in an unenviable position when it comes to his ambition to win the Tour de France. In the era of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, even such talented athlete that the 25-year-old Belgian is, he may only hope to win in the absence of the two. And the vast difference in team strengths doesn't help his odds...

"The past few weeks have also been a bit of a search for the right balance between rest and training. But overall I do feel stronger, yes. Except... I'm not the only one," he laughs in conversation with Het Laatste Nieuws. As the old saying goes: Competition never sleeps. "Everyone is taking a step forward."

In particular the requirements to perform at the highest level have grown massively with the arrival of superhumans Pogacar and Vingegaard. "Three, four years ago you could still ride uphill at 7 w/kg and still be two minutes ahead of the competition. Now you have to pedal that for twenty minutes! And even then you're only halfway there or, certainly with Tadej Pogacar, you're already dangling at a minute. Really crazy."

And for Evenepoel it is simply not quite possible to make those massive leaps in level anymore, even though he's still younger than his rivals. "I'm currently at a kind of ceiling that I find difficult to raise," he admits. "Expressed in watts per kilo, I have indeed not improved since my Vuelta win in 2022 and the phase afterwards, in which I was really at my best and rode with a surplus. Not even in last year's Tour."

What has been talked about extensively is the overall strength of Soudal - Quick-Step, compared to the superteams of UAE Team Emirates - XRG or Visma | Lease a Bike whose domestiques alone could probably give Evenepoel a good run for his money if given the freedom to ride for themselves.

"But I think we do have some rouleurs with us, who can be very important in such a stage. Cattaneo, for example. A Schachmann in shape - preferably the version from Itzulia Basque Country, not the one from the Dauphiné - should also be able to do that. And a strong and well-positioned Van Wilder is always worth his weight in gold."

Evenepoel's team made big steps and even bigger statements about going all in for the Belgian's GC ambitions, but it's yet to be really reflected in their roster, a pill that is becoming increasingly bitter to swallow for the Olympic Champion who cannot expect any star recruits in the climbing resort for 2026 either.

"It's difficult for me to go into this in depth, but... a bit of a shame, yes," sighs Evenepoel, about the silence on the transfer market. The only notable signings on that end was Mikel Landa in 2024 and Valentin Paret-Peintre ahead of this season. "Landa did sign," he nods. "But Mikel will not be racing until he is sixty either."

Could there be possibilties to recruit riders like Kevin Vauquelin and Cristián Rodríguez from the struggling Arkéa - B&B Hotels? "They aren't the very best climbers, but they are indeed guys who consistently finish in the top fifteen in their races, and on a good day even in the top ten. If these guys stay injury-free, they can make progress and blossom with us."