"That’s when Remco needed to step up, but he didn't" - José De Cauwer disappointed by Evenepoel's Worlds performance
Cycling
The Belgian team left the Montréal World Championships notably disappointed. The traditional land of cycling aimed to capitalize on Tadej Pogacar's absence with a rainbow jersey, but their leader Remco Evenepoel simply could not find good enough legs to even compete for the podium, let alone victory.
In the end, it was a mere 12th place for Evenepoel - a result that is far from where the Belgian fans would like to see their beloved in the result sheet.
But would Sporza expert José De Cauwer go as far as to call the performance a complete flop? "Yes... no... That wouldn't be fair to the riders. Segaert, Vermeersch... they did their best and played their part," the Belgian said hesitantly. "Wout van Aert also played a valuable role by keeping Mathieu van der Poel's breakaway in check."
This way, De Cauwer carefully comes to the conclusion, that everything went fine... until it was the turn of team leader Remco Evenepoel. The Olympic champion, who had won the World Championships time trial for a fourth year in a row, simply lacked the level to compete with the best on the day and often found himself hastily fixing the damage done.
Thus it wasn't surprising that Evenepoel barely managed to play a role in the finale, with as much as one promising attack which however did not last for more than a dozen seconds. And in the sprint for silver and bronze medals, the Belgian simply lacked any cards to play.
"That’s when Remco needed to step up, but he didn't. And so, we arrive at the conclusion the riders themselves have already reached: it wasn't good enough. If the goal was to put the finishing touches on a successful season just a week after winning the time trial world title, that certainly didn't happen."
"Those legs simply weren't good enough"
De Cauwer noted that the race plan wasn't the issue. "Not with those legs. They simply weren't good enough for that. The course didn't lie. A Remco in top form - with the right legs - could have pulled it off. But at a certain point, it became clear things would be difficult when he was trailing at the back of the chase group."
When Remco accelerated in the final laps, it seemed as though he might've kept something extra left, but that hope was quickly gone. "For a moment, we thought he was playing a tactical game," De Cauwer analyzed. That turned out not to be the case. "Our expected contender didn't have the legs," was the rather clear conclusion.
Brandon McNulty on the podium of the 2026 Montreal World Championships
Blow out
With Brandon McNulty emerging as the surprise winner, the disappointment was perhaps even greater. That showed that, perhaps, the Belgian team bet on the wrong horse on Sunday, and perhaps should've gone for Wout Van Aert or another more versatile rider as a second option, rather than go all-out for Evenepoel.
But who would've guessed the Tour de France runner-up would not find any legs after his dominant time trial victory...
Because as it turned out, the World Championship was far less of a race for pure climbers than anticipated. "In that respect, we missed having a top-form Remco here. Let's assume he would have stood out above the rest. After all, today we saw that Del Toro and Seixas couldn't break away from each other."
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That played into the hands of other riders. "It opens the door for someone like Mathieu van der Poel to come through the field. With a Remco in top form, things would have been different," assessed De Cauwer, noting that Van der Poel could well have become world champion. "But then again, so could Matthews. We saw so many shifts in the race that we still gave Remco Evenepoel a chance in the closing stages. Even Pedersen came back into the picture on the final lap."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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