"They have a history of destroying their own riders" - Can Belgian media be to blame for Remco Evenepoel's breakdown?

Cycling is an absolute top sport in Belgium and there is perhaps a greater concentration of media and attention on all riders and teams than in other country in the world. However that may play against their very own, and former pro Stef Clement argues that Remco Evenepoel's breakdown at the Tour de France may have also been caused by that.

"Remco can't rest. The whole country has been after him all year. When he collided with that postman, the entire village was out," Clement, now a pundit, has said in words to NOS. It has been the case for a long time that the country's top talents are under a magnifying glass, and there is attention on them all-year out.

Evenepoel, a rider who has been under extreme pressure and expectations since he was a junior, grew up in this very difficult environment, and whilst he has improved significantly and worked on his explosivity, it was possible to see just how much discourse around every move of his there was.

During the Tour de France a strong rumour came out right away that he was close to signing with Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe; There was also criticism of him and Soudal - Quick-Step for missing the echelon on stage 1; and even a clip circling social media where he had ignored a fan by the bus caused him to react and correct what had happened. Safe to say that all after his withdrawal from the Tour, this discourse hit an all time high.

Clement argues that this has a destructive effect in his performance. "It's a shame that the magnifying glass of the entire Belgian press is focused on him. They have a history of destroying their own riders. Arnaud De Lie is suffering, Evenepoel is still riding everything that's golden, but meanwhile, he also seems to be succumbing to the pressure. It doesn't change anything. Frank Vandenbroucke was succumbed to it, and so was Tom Boonen."

Whilst in other countries, the majority get to escape this pressure. "Mathieu van der Poel is actually the happiest Belgian in the world, because he's considered Dutch. He could live there and build his whole life, but because he has a Dutch passport, they give him a little more peace of mind than they do with their own riders. That's the best of both worlds".