Patrick Lefevere on Remco Evenepoel: "If he decided to race the Tour of Flanders he would absolutely be capable of winning it"
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar has won the Tour of Flanders two years ago and will be a prime contender to do so once again this spring. According to Patrick Lefevere, his Soudal - Quick-Step leaders Remco Evenepoel could also be achieving such a result if he put his full focus on it.
"I hope we can do well in the Flanders classics. With phenomena like Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pogacar it is not easy at all," Lefevere said in words to RTBF. "A few years ago we could rely on our collective strength, but today if someone like Van der Poel attacks with 80 kilometers to go, all our tactics immediately become obsolete".
Less and less the big classics are about tactics, as we entered an era of riders who dominate even at the highest level. Quick-Step did not manage to step up when other top teams have in this specific field, and are now one of many who enter the classics trying to surprise. "This does not mean that you have to give up, you always have to fight and try to anticipate your opponents".
Anticipating itself becomes very hard, as Lefevere mentions, but in the smaller races and some chaotic ones such as Paris-Roubaix there very much is the space for that. However in those that involve climbing, the new generation of climbers who can ride well in all terrains could also be involved in the fight for the Flanders win. Lefevere believes Evenepoel himself could actually do it.
"We miss Remco, I am convinced that if he decided to race the Tour of Flanders he would absolutely be capable of winning it. But now his big goals are the Grand Tours," the former team boss argues. "Unfortunately he has this injury, and I am sure that he is suffering a lot watching his opponents race and win while he is forced to watch them on television. Luckily the Tour is still far away, and if there is one thing I have learned it is that haste and panic are bad advisors".
The team is mostly looking at Paul Magnier to perform this spring and obtain some strong results. The French rode a strong Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and finished in third place, and could potentially repeat this in other big events. "Paul is very young, but I hope that Yves Lampaert will also be able to find his level again. As for Paul, we have followed him since he was a junior. We have seen progress despite him having had injuries and some ailments. He is an enormous talent".
"It is important not to force things, however: it is not him at 20 who has to save the team If I had to make a comparison, I see him similar to riders like Tom Boonen and Johan Museeuw. I know that it is a significant burden for a young man like him, but I see the same characteristics," he concluded.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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