"Remco and I had a good laugh about it" - Evenepoel's new teammate puts behind 2021 heated clash

In his early years, Remco Evenepoel was a very emotional rider and would often get in arguments with other riders in the peloton. One such case happened at the 2021 Benelux Tour, involving Gianni Vermeersch. Now, the duo will be teammates, and have put this dark episode behind.

At the time, Vermeersch's movement in the peloton saw Evenepoel suffer a broken wheel and lose time on one of the stages, hampering his ambitions in the overall classification. Te two had a heated argument after the finish. This was in the year where Evenepoel, now also eager to join the German team, had returned to racing after suffering a pelvis fracture at the 2020 Il Lombardia edition.

"Those are old memories, and Remco and I had a good laugh about it during the team's first training camp," Vermeersch shared in words to La Dernière Heure. "Even today, I maintain that I did nothing wrong. And with his current experience, I think Remco is aware of that too."

At the end of October Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe had a team camp in Salzburg, Austria, in which its riders were able to assemble for a few days. The two were both new faces in the group, with Evenepoel coming in from Soudal - Quick-Step and Vermeersch being snatched from Alpecin-Deceuninck - which is currently on the brink of having Premier Tech as a secondary sponsor. This camp was also notable due to the absence of Oier Lazkano, whose departure from the German team was confirmed later on.

The team will face an interesting challenge in 2026 managing its leaders, with several big figures wanting to have their opportunities throughout the year in the Grand Tours and main stage-races. Evenepoel is teaming up with Primoz Roglic, Florian Lipowitz, Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley, with quality sprinters and classics riders also in the mix.