Winning ambitons for Remco Evenepoel's comeback start: "Remco is not going to ride the Brabantse Pijl just to finish"

Remco Evenepoel is the current double Olympic champion which comes with the honour of wearing golden helmet in races. However we haven't seen the glittering complement to his blue outfit on the roads in 2025 yet. A training injury sidelined Evenepoel for a while, but now he's finally back to race the Brabantse Pijl on Friday.

"I have been in touch with him every now and then, the same with his trainer Koen Pelgrim in January and again recently," says Pauwels when approached by WielerFlits about the recovery process of the greatest asset of Belgian National Team.

"Then you hear how Remco is doing and how he is evolving. That does not always go in a straight line upwards. It has not always been easy, also because he knows that the expectations for himself will always be high. Remco is not going to ride the Brabantse Pijl just to finish. He will always remain a winner."

"He went from the highest possible peak, with the gold medals at the Olympic Games and applause from everyone, to a low point. He had to fight a battle day in, day out. Rehabilitation, work, paying close attention to your food, but no one applauded him. That is a huge contrast. We should not underestimate that. Remco had to live two hundred percent for his job in recent months, but from a position where you don't get any applause for that."

His last race Il Lombardia last October. Between then and now, more than half a year passed. "In my opinion, he should never be disappointed about the result. You have to see it as the next step in the process towards the Tour de France. The fact that he can participate in these classics and gain rhythm is already a gain."

Remco loves winning above everything else. Although Brabantse Pijl isn't the most prestigious race, he'll definitely look for a way to victory. "But his real goals are located later," Pauwels reminds. After this much time out of competition, it's more about getting the feel for races again. "That is more realistic. I would advise him not to set his expectations too high for himself and I am curious to see how he will do."