Remco Evenepoel: "You actually have every reason to be pissed at a teammate if he prevents you from becoming world champion"
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel is heading into Glasgow as the reigning World Champion. The route isn't as well suited as last year however he starts as one of the favourites, he talks about how teaming up with Wout van Aert can be his perfect scenario, and how friendships can be broken in such a meaningful race.
“The ideal scenario is that Wout and I go to the final together in a small group. Then we can also play mental games," Evenepoel said in an interview ahead of the race. "Unlike last year, it is much more difficult to predict where it will happen. There is a good chance that the peloton will break open where no one expects it. Everyone talks about Montrose Street, but maybe nothing will happen there.”
The Belgian is a aware that the extremely technical circuit can see attacks or splits at any point, and it is in Belgium's favour as the team takes several high quality riders for this type of terrain. Depth will be important to make sure all moves are covered, and the team has the opportunity to anticipate rivals too. Evenepoel's tactic will surely be of attempting that, as was the case last year.
Click
here to play along with our Fantasy World Championships Road Race Men (At
least $6,590/€6,000/£5,150 in prizes!)
The final circuit features a few climbs but he argues that the decisive moves may not come there. “Because everyone expects it. You have to pay attention in every corner, on every strip. It is a World Championship where we will have to ride full throttle all the time. Just unpredictable. Maybe the course isn't as hard as we all think?"
However he's also asked about possible rivalries with teammates. Kasper Asgreen, Julian Alaphilippe and Andrea Bagioli for example will all be on rival teams on the day and are strong contenders themselves for a medal. “Just think of Asgreen, he's in super shape. You actually have every reason to be pissed at a teammate if he prevents you from becoming world champion."
"The next day you ride in one team again, wearing the same outfit. He did take away your big dream, didn't he. It can even cost friendships. But at a World Championships you ride for your country. It is a brutal, hard fact," he concludes.
Read also
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.
claps 4visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
Loading
🙌🏽 Here we GOOOO! 𝐓𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞 for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships – bag your spot now for the biggest cycling event, ever. Now WE ride! 📲 fal.cn/3w4Xu #GlasgowScotland2023 #PowerOfTheBike @UCI_Cycling @BritishCycling
2 Comments