Remco Evenepoel frustrated with Philipsen after second place at Belgian Road Race Championships: "Those are sometimes strange tactics”

Remco Evenepoel had to settle for silver at the Belgian National Championships Road Race on Sunday, just two days after winning the time trial title. The Olympic time trial and road race champion crossed the line behind Tim Wellens, who took a solo victory. Jasper Philipsen completed the podium in third.

Evenepoel, who crashed early on but continued without major issues, was left frustrated by a lack of cooperation in the chase behind Wellens, particularly from Philipsen.

"I always managed to jump on the wheel, but I couldn't turn along," he told Sporza after the finish. "Those are sometimes strange tactics. You'll never win the race that way."

Philipsen’s reluctance to contribute to the chase raised questions about whether Wellens could have been caught. “Could we have brought Wellens back if Philipsen had helped sooner? Perhaps, but Philipsen said he couldn't. Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore.”

Evenepoel also addressed his crash early in the race: “But I didn’t suffer any consequences from that. The peloton got caught up and they fell in front of me. It just cost me some strength in the chase to get back, but that didn’t make the difference.”

Attention now shifts to the Tour de France, which begins next Saturday. “First enjoy a few more days of rest and then go full throttle for 3 weeks,” said Evenepoel.