Remco Evenepoel is no longer welcome in Italy with his new rainbow pizza: "I don’t think it’s going to be accepted"

With the latest Remco Evenepoel's out-of-cycling adventures, the Belgian might have just become Italian public enemy no.1. The Belgian World Champion has been an ambassador for restaurant chain Pizza Hut since 2021 and last week unveiled a special 'rainbow pizza' design in a move to celebrate his cycling achievements. CyclingWeekly collected impressions among his cycling colleagues from Italy.

Alberto Bettiol has an affinity for Evenpoel’s home country of Belgium as a classics specialist and winner of the Tour of Flanders, but he wasn’t impressed. "I think its better as a jersey than a pizza," he said dryly. "Its got too many things on it."

TotalEnergies rider Daniel Oss is of a similar opinion. "I don’t know," he says in a wary tone. "I’m pretty classic, this has got too many things on it, you confuse the flavours."

Quite surprisingly, Gianni Moscon is on-board with this unique combination: "Olives, tomatoes, corn, this is pepper… As long as there’s no pineapple it’s fine. I think it could work, it’s not too bad."

So we have to ask, will he be welcome in at the Giro d'Italia after this? "I’m not really sure, especially in Napoli. I don’t think it’s going to be accepted," says Bettiol with a glint in his eye and his tongue in his cheek. "The cycling fans would maybe welcome him but Italians in general no."