"It's not easy to be one of those six" - Remco Evenepoel responds to commentary of the 'big six'

Monday, 24 April 2023 at 22:36

Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard have become the standard for proven winners in cycling.

Riders who can just about be competitive in every single terrain and conquer most of the high-level competitions they take part in. Evenepoel has commented on this terminology that has become popular this year.

"It's not easy to be one of those six. We have to work hard to stay at this highest level," Evenepoel said in a press conference following his Liège-Bastogne-Liège win. "If you look at how Pogacar has held house in this classic spring. That's really incredible. From Milano-Sanremo until probably today he would normally have been there to fight for the win. Mathieu van der Poel has also won two Monuments in recent weeks, which is exceptional. I am happy to be named among six exceptional champions as a World champion. Hopefully my team and I can continue to perform at this level. Because behind each of those six is a very strong team.”

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The level at the top of cycling continues to grow and is reaching a level where a few riders almost automatically start as main favourites for whichever races they turn out to. Tadej Pogacar is a good example, starting off as a win contender for every single race he's started this year - winning many. Mathieu van der Poel has won two monuments, both Roglic and Vingegaard have won stage-races with multiple stage wins, Evenepoel has taken on several high-level triumphs over the past year and Wout van Aert is present everywhere he races in the battles.

“Are you asking me if there is a huge gap between those six and the rest? No no no," Evenepoel believes however. "A lot of riders in this peloton can push hard on the pedals. Sometimes top riders also have their orders from the team. Look at Ilan van Wilder today. He certainly could have achieved a top ten finish, but had to sacrifice his chances for me.”

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12 months ago Evenepoel won La Doyenne, and then won the Tour of Norway, Clásica San Sebastián, Vuelta a Espana, World Championships and recently the UAE Tour. Before tackling the Giro d'Italia he now won the fourth monument of the season once again, in a team that is continuously evolving in their support for the 23-year old. A climbing block has been formed and Ilan van Wilder has been showing great signs of being his right-hand man throughout the Corsa Rosa.

“I think the most important thing is to have a team that is above the other teams. It's so much more than just riding faster. It's about saving energy in the race. You always have to push the boundaries with your team in everything," he explains. "Such as tires, bicycles, clothing, food etc etc. Everyone does what they can and everyone wants to be the best. I think I can speak for all six of us that we want to show everyone that we are better than the rest.”

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Although the trend changes more towards the best riders, road cycling remains a sport where many can win and Evenepoel is keen on reminding that. “Cycling is a completely different world to football, where with Ronaldo, Messi and Mbappé you have stars that everyone knows are better than the rest. In cycling there are many other guys who can also win races.

"We, and especially me, don't want to look at it that way at all. I think this would not be fair to the other riders who are also doing their utmost and giving everything and sacrificing a lot to compete at the highest level," he concluded.