"That is a purely sporting choice by himself" - Patrick Lefevere disagrees with Remco Evenepoel's choice to return at the Tour de Suisse
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel will be back in action for the first time since the Giro d'Italia at the upcoming Tour de Suisse. If had been up to the Soudal - Quick-Step boss however, this would not have been the case.
"Remco is going back to the Tour de Suisse. In all honesty: that is a purely sporting choice by himself and by trainer Koen Pelgrim," writes Patrick Lefevere in his column for Het Nieuwsblad. "There are two time trials in Switzerland, of 12.7 and 25.7 kilometres respectively, and that is the best possible preparation for the championships that are coming soon."
Had the choice been solely Lefevere's, Evenepoel would have instead been travelling to Belgium. "I can say that I have texted back and forth with Christophe Impens from Golazo and that they are willing to "make an effort" for the Baloise Belgium Tour," he explains. "But now and then, as CEO, I am also the king of Belgium. A ceremonial head of state, without executive power. That doesn't happen too often for the record."
"The Tour of Switzerland does not make an effort for Evenepoel. They used to be good payers, but when they became part of the WorldTour it was ruined," Lefevere continues. "As in so many races. The WorldTour imposes on the organizers a minimum compensation of 8,500 euros to the teams. But in practice, Switzerland - and all other races - sees that as a standard rate that they never exceed. Eight days of racing in Switzerland, with the Swiss prices at the pump and in the shops, try to fund that with 8,500 euros."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- 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
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
The World Champion returns to racing this month 💥 @EvenepoelRemco will be at the start of the @tds and the National Championships, before traveling to @valdifassa for the team’s summer training camp 🌈 Read more about this, here: soudal-quickstepteam.com/en/news/6091/t… Photo: @BeelWout
2 Comments