"What will I remember most? The double Olympic title. That will stay with me forever" - Patrick Lefevere fondly recalls Remco Evenepoel's 2024

Soudal - Quick-Step leader Remco Evenepoel had a very successful season in 2024, much to the delight of the team's boss Patrick Lefevere.

Speaking to Sporza from the 2024 Kristallen Fiets ceremony, where Evenepoel was named Belgian rider of the year for the fourth time in his career, the often outspoken Lefevere reflected on his rider's successful season. "It was a very long and exhausting season," he begins. "After the World Championships in Zurich, he was already a bit down, but he still pushed through to the Tour of Lombardy. And there he also finished second, as the best of the rest of the peloton after an unassailable Tadej Pogacar."

Although Evenepoel also had to settle for 'best of the rest' behind Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard on his Tour de France debut, finishing 3rd overall, there were plenty of successes to reflect back on warmly. Olympic gold medals, another Rainbow Jersey, stages at the Tour de France, Paris-Nice and the Criterium du Dauphine, so it's fair to say Lefevere is pleased.

"Remco handles the pressure well, but sometimes the barrel is empty. And that's okay. He's still so young. And he also had a bad fall in the Basque Country in the spring. That's not talked about much anymore, but I understand that: everyone has their own path of suffering," the Soudal - Quick-Step boss concludes. "As a team, we tried to guide him in a perfect way. What will I remember most? That is the double Olympic title. That will stay with me forever."

As for the prestigious Kristallen Fiets award? "It is given to few riders to peak four times a year, to recharge yourself every time, and that with all the responsibility that rests on his shoulders," concludes Lefevere, delighted to see Evenepoel match Tom Boonen with a 4th success in the colours of Soudal - Quick-Step.