“Flanders, are you ready? » With great fanfare, Remco Evenepoel announced this Wednesday its participation in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday. The Flemish classic, contested between Antwerp and Oudenaarde, did not appear in the initial program of the Belgian who had first planned a break between the Tour of Catalonia, which he finished on Sunday in 5th position, and the first Ardennes classic, the Amstel, on April 19.
Winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège twice, Evenepoel has relatively little experience in the Flandrian classics. He competed in a Paris-Roubaix among juniors and lined up at Nokere Koerse as a neopro (57th in 2019). However, he knows the terrain very well. Originally from Schepdaal in Flemish Brabant (north of Brussels), he trains regularly on the mountains and cobblestones of the Ronde.
“Le Ronde deserves the best possible field”
On Sunday, he will have a hard time facing the two big favorites: Tadej Pogacar, outgoing winner and in 2023, and Mathieu van der Poel who aims to become the first rider to win four times after his successes in 2020, 2022 and 2024. Another Belgian, Wout Van Aert, is also among the favorites. The rider from the Visma-Lease a bike team was delighted with the participation of his compatriot.
“If it’s not an April Fool’s joke, it’s excellent news because the Tour of Flanders deserves the best possible line-up,” he declared at midday on Wednesday at the start of Across Flanders, the final rehearsal before the Ronde.
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