Remco Evenepoel had been eyeing the Ardennes classics this spring, however to think of the Belgian super-talent taking a win with such dominance was hard to predict. In the final day of the spring, he saved
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team's classics campaign with a daring solo attack.
“I think today was my best day ever on the bike! I woke up with a good feeling, knowing this could be my day. The race was hard, but I had a great team around me and rode stress free all the time, and all these elements helped me get inside the last hour of the race as fresh as possible. It also helped that I know these roads really well since my junior days, I knew where to be going into the climbs, and also that on the descent of Roche-aux-Faucons you can go full gas, which I did," Evenepoel said after conquering his first monument.
He had started the day as co-leader together with Julian Alaphilippe, however that changed as the World champion crashed into a ditch when a big portion of the peloton crashed with 60 kilometers to go. The strategy for the team seemed clear from that point, as Mauri Vansevenant and Remco Evenepoel took to the head of the peloton at the Côte de la Redoute and the Belgian attacked near the summit and quickly got a gap over the peloton.
It wasn’t easy with the headwind after the climb, but I kept pushing and did my best. Today we showed the Wolfpack mentality, we rode as the incredible team we are and we kept believing in ourselves. We didn’t have a great spring, but we still won a lot of races and gave our best every time, despite facing bad luck and not so good moments," he added. Against a fast-chasing peloton, Evenepoel incredibly managed to keep his gap in the run-up to the final ascent, and there again he showed no signs of slowing down, as the ever-smaller peloton saw moves off the front.
Evenepoel was never again seen until the finish. His remarkable time-trialing skills proved perfect for the attack he was trying to pull off, and he managed to go into the final kilometer with the victory assured.
Having my family at the finish line and celebrating with them makes this a perfect day I will always remember. It’s amazing, truly incredible! Liège-Bastogne-Liège is one of the races I dreamed about winning and to do this at my first participation makes me very proud and happy! I want to say a big thank you to everybody – my team and teammates, my family and my friends. They always kept believing in me, even when I had difficult days, and that’s why winning today feels even more special," he concluded - after visibly being emotional after crossing the line.
