The next time you don’t want a secret to get out, avoid repeating it to your best friend, who will tell the whole gang as quickly as possible. Favor the Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team. Three months that the staff of the German team has remained silent so as not to reveal the biggest secret of the cycling planet in 2026: Remco Evenepoel will compete in the Tour of Flanders this Sunday for the first time.
Made official by the Belgian himself on Wednesday, the information made even the peloton smile a little, with Wout Van Aert even wondering if it was an April Fool’s joke. But, no worries, Evenepoel will be at the start from Antwerp and hopes to be among the best in Oudenaarde, at the end of 278 km of steep slopes, cobblestones, hoppy breath of furious Belgians, who are desperately looking for a successor to Philippe Gilbert, the last child of the sacred flat country in 2017.
“It’s a race that suits Evenepoel”
Let’s say it straight away: the task will be difficult for the former little protégé of Patrick Lefévère facing the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar and Wout Van Aert. But, for three months, Evenepoel has been riding the Koppenberg, the Old Quaramont or the Paterberg until he is thirsty, just to be ready for the disembarkation. In a video broadcast on the Remco Evenepoel YouTube channel, Sven Vanthourenhout assures us: the Ronde is made for him:
« This race suits him perfectly. No one expects him to compete in a race like that, but it’s the kind of racing he loves. Races where he can make history, that’s what makes Remco want to come, and not just come. »
The sporting director of Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe followed his new foal during reconnaissance of the course in the heart of winter, in the company of Alan Piper, the team’s strategic director and Gianni Vermeersch, who was originally supposed to be the undisputed leader in the Flanders classics. All the elite of the German team are at the disposal of the world chrono champion to enable him to arrive at the scene of his hazing as best prepared as possible.
“Another superhero on the run”
But will just three months of preparation be enough for Remco Evenepoel to influence a race where experience is almost one of the primary qualities to hope to tickle the best? “Today, the very good runners are proving that they can do all the races,” assures Ramon Sinkeldam, Dutch champion in 2017 and former Groupama-FDJ runner. Nobody thought ten years ago that a rider could win the Tour de France, the Ronde and almost Paris-Roubaix. It’s a race that suits him. It’s good that he tries. »
From there to the essay being transformed, there is a world. But there is no doubt that The Little Cannibal will try to influence the race in one way or another, as David van der Poel, Mathieu’s brother and agent, thinks: “As long as Remco is in a race, it changes things quite a bit. Even if he has never done the Tour of Flanders, he is someone who will have to be counted on. Especially in one-day races, where he has already proven that he dares to run and attack from afar. »
Specialists in long solo escapes, will Van der Poel and Pogacar find themselves facing a new antagonist who will attack from even further away? “If there is wind, it would be even more favorable for him,” assured the Frenchman from Total Energies Alexys Brunel on RTBF. When you’re on Remco’s wheel in a curb, it’s never pleasant. It would be more rivalry for Wout, Mathieu and Pogi. That would add another superhero to the race. »
Who will be able to follow Pogacar?
But Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, which pulled out the big bucks in 2025 to lure the Belgian into its net, did not bet everything on a distant attack from its leader. Sven Vanthourenhout hopes that Evenepoel will be with the best after the first two visits to Vieux-Quaremont. “And if he can do it solo the last time (around fifteen kilometers from the finish), that will be the icing on the cake,” he adds.
“Afterwards, we also have to see if his participation will not disrupt his own team,” adds Ramon Sinkeldam. There are a few classic riders who should have been the leaders (Vermeersch, Pithie). Maybe they’ll have to sacrifice themselves for Remco. Afterwards, for the rest, I don’t think it will change much for Tadej and Mathieu, they will do their race. »
David van der Poel quite agrees and he even believes that the Slovenian will have the cards in hand. It remains to be seen who will be able to follow him. “Tadej will race like he always does, he won’t look too much at the others,” the Dutchman’s brother prophesies. He will really toughen up the race with his team and try to attack all the bumps to try to tire everyone out. » We will then know if three months of training were enough at Remco to withstand the attacks of the Slovenian despot.
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