Lombardia crash "helped me to become another human being" - Remco Evenepoel

Remco Evenepoel was on the way up in 2022, taking an incredible amount of achievements which has seen him conclude a brilliant season. He talks of his partnership with Julian Alaphilippe and how his mentality has changed over the past year.

"It's going to rub. This is one of the most important trophies in cycling, it's a great honor to be among all these big names," Evenepoel said in an interview with L'Équipe, referring to the Velo d'Or. "To be the 2022 winner is something very special." The Belgian beat Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar having taken spectacular wins at the World Championships, Vuelta a Espana, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Clasica San Sebastian between others.

Evenepoel has proven to be recovered from his crashes of the past, and that he is a Grand Tour specialist, winning the Vuelta with great success. Simultaneously, the pressure blocking seems to have passed, as he proved this past season all that he needed to, and is no longer a 'what if' when it comes to what he can achieve in the future.

"Since 2019, I have become a different person. I have less stress, less frustration and I can now talk about all subjects," he states. "A lot of things have changed after my victory over Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I took a lot I also put things into perspective a lot more since my fall on the Giro di Lombardia, it helped me to become another human being."

Also asked about Julian Alaphilippe in the interview, he responded: "I tried to listen to him a lot, to take a lot of advice. We became very good friends, he helps me a lot." The Frenchman has been in a small spat as Patrick Lefevere has been publicly addressing his lack of results, and the future within the team is not assured beyond this season.