"What will I remember most? The double Olympic title. That will stay with me forever" - Patrick Lefevere fondly recalls Remco Evenepoel's 2024
Cycling
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."
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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.
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- yeah, that’s a more fair assessment. “reaching mathieu’s level” doesn’t mean you’re planning to replicate his whole career. the former IS doable, potentially. it’s just the latter that likely is not.OCexile25-12-2024
- That’s not entirely true. Every person follows their own development path and peaks differently. Remco and Primoz had hardly started cycling before elite level. Jonas was pretty much under the radzr until he unexpectedly had to take over responsibility at JV. Some guys only get real good in their thirties others have peaked mid-twenties. You can’t tell in advance how and upto what level they will progress, obviously his career might not have MVDPs length but nothing says he could not end up doing a few seasons at his level.Mistermaumau25-12-2024
- well, del grosso is 21 right now. when mathieu was a year younger than that, he was already winning elite level world championships, not U23. i think del grosso will be a very good pro for years, but if he was really going to be the next van der poel someday, he’d already have to be at that level right NOW. van der poel was showing signs of true greatness when he was 15-16. THAT’S what generational talent looks like.OCexile25-12-2024
- Yeah.... gear 😅.mikolajjj24-12-2024
- It shouldn’t be about expectations in the first place should it? Besides, if you look at everyone’s calculations as a whole they don’t add up in the first place. There’ll be 2-3 riders with a 50% chance, a dozen with 10 or 20% and dozens more with a 5% so we’re expecting at least 2 if not 3 winners. Remind me again who won before her? Says it all about using data to decide on participation.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- Ok, happy I’m not too interested in this team coz’ the account of what happened is really hard to follow.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- The UCI is worse than USA CyclingVeganpotter24-12-2024
- It's not like they wanted her to not win😅 She had an outstanding Olympics. But there's a reason why she wasn't expected to win the road race and that's ok. Things like this happen and it's great...better than seeing expected winners win.Veganpotter24-12-2024
- Bruyneel ? The man with a lifetime ban from cycling...why do you keep giving him and his doper mate, Armstrong, a platform?DJ24-12-2024
- yeah, agree. on the subject of being a “complete rider,” i do think that’s getting more interesting. mathieu seems to have decided he wants to get much better at climbing the the high mountain passes. he appears to be looking for new challenges, which should be interesting to watch. in most cases you’d dismiss a goal like that at age 30, but it’s mvdp. he’s never going to climb with the real climbers, but if he can improve enough it could open up stage wins when the parcours isnt just purely toothy and punchy.OCexile24-12-2024