"That must have something to do with bike handling" - Belgian legend raises serious concerns over Remco Evenepoel's crash frequency
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel's time at the 2025 Criterium du Dauphine proved to be a mixed one. A time trial stage win and time spent in the Maillot Jaune of race leader were undoubted positives, however, ending the race 4th on GC more than four minutes down on Tadej Pogacar means there is plenty of room for improvement ahead of the Tour de France.
According to Belgian cycling legend Frank Hoste though, Evenepoel's biggest concern shouldn't be his form, but his repeated crashes. A problem that threatens to ruin any dreams Evenepoel has of ending the wait for a Belgian Tour de France winner. “Evenepoel was on the ground again on Thursday,” Hoste remarked on the podcast Derailleur. “For me, it’s yet another sign: ‘Damn, how is it that he’s the one going down, and no one else?’"
Looking for answers, the five-time Tour de France stage winner has a couple of theories. "That must have something to do with bike handling — being able to anticipate tricky situations. Or maybe it’s panic — and once you panic, you crash," ponders the 69-year-old. "If your wheel slides a bit and you panic, you go down. Especially on that roundabout they had to take, which looped back almost 180 degrees. I can understand your balance being momentarily thrown off, but as a rider, you have to be able to handle that.”
As such, Hoste has serious worries about his compatriot's hope to win the Maillot Jaune. “It’s become evident again that Evenepoel has some limitations in that area, and that worries me — especially going into the first week of the Tour," he explains. "That’s when riders are hitting the deck every day."
"I just hope nothing happens during that opening week and that he’s surrounded by a strong team. His teammates need to ride up front in the wind with him the whole time, so he doesn’t have to fight for position in the peloton," Hoste concludes. "That, to me, is crucial — that Remco gets through that first week in one piece.”
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.
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- 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
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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
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- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026
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