"Remco was still a footballer": Evenepoel's former teammate quickly changed his mind about then 18-year-old prodigy

Remco Evenepoel's stint as a Soudal - Quick-Step rider is about to come to an end. This Saturday he gets on his bike at Il Lomabrdia 2025, his last race as a member of the 'Wolfpack' before leaving for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. That's why his teammates and former teammates wanted to share their experiences with the superstar in the Belgian team.

One of them has been Iljo Keisse, technical director of Soudal - Quick-Step, but in the past a cyclist who was already with the team when Remco Evenepoel landed at the age of 19. At the time, everyone was surprised that a footballer had risen so quickly to elite cycling.

Evenepoel was assigned a roommate, who turned out to be Iljo Keisse himself. At first, the director wasn't too happy about the news: "My roommate, Niki Terpstra, had just left for TotalEnergies. So I was looking for a replacement among the thirty-somethings. Suddenly, it turned out to be Remco. It was a bit of a shock," he told Het Nieuwsblad.

"Not to judge, but Remco was still a footballer back then. For example, he was a bit reticent. Footballers walk like that, but cyclists certainly don't," added Keisse with a chuckle, who immediately had to change his mind about Evenepoel.

"Now, he turned out to be the most mature, grown-up guy I've ever seen in my life. The opposite of a playboy. Sometimes he'd play the music too loud in the room, but he was a true professional through and through. He would steal with his eyes, all to become the best in his field. Something he finally achieved," he went on to declare, already about how quickly Remco managed to convince everyone.

The first time Remco Evenepoel got on his bike at Soudal - Quick-Step he left everyone shocked, even Iljo Keisse himself:

"It was crazy. You have to understand that Remco was still using a junior gear of 52-14. For us pros, it was 53-11 or 54-11. The first training session was kind of like a team time trial: ten minutes flat out, ten minutes rest. We were all thinking, 'He's going to bike home.' And, in fact, it turned out to be just the opposite," he concluded.