‘Remco Evenepoel will ride the Tour of Flanders one day’ - just not this year

Remco Evenepoel sparked rumours that he could be drafted into the Soudal-QuickStep team for the Tour of Flanders by posting details of a Flemish training ride on Strava. He then quickly quashed the idea by travelling to Tenerife to train at altitude, but he is expected to target the biggest race in Belgian cycling one day.

“If you ask Remco if he ever wants to start in the Ronde, he’d certainly say yes,” Soudal-QuickStep directeur sportif Wilfried Peeters told Het Nieuwsblad.

“If he focuses on the Tour of Flanders, it’s possible that he’d get a good result.”

The world champion teased about his Flemish ride by posting a series of emoticons on his Strava posting. On Friday he rode 80km around Mount Teide and jokingly called the ride RVV-2 (Ronde van Vlaanderen), complete with a zipped-lips emoticon.

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His Soudal-QuickStep team arguably need some reinforcements if they are to take on Tadej Pogacar, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel on Sunday but Evenepoel can’t help them out this year. His altitude training is part of his  build-up to the Giro d’Italia, his big goal of 2023, with Liège-Bastogne-Liège his only scheduled Classic ride of the spring.

However, if Evenepoel decides to target the Tour de France in 2024, then he could follow a similar Spring programme to Pogacar and target some Spring Classics.

“The top riders are always ready for new challenges. Remco also learns every day and fast,” Peeters suggested.

“If you position Remco Evenepoel at the front before the Oude Kwaremont, who can drop him? He's already raced like that. Not only in the Baloise Belgium Tour but also at the World Championships in Leuven and in the Brabantse Pijl.

“With the Tour replacing the Giro, it might be easier to ride the Ronde in the spring, but of course you always have a danger lurking around the corner."

However, Peeters played down the hope of a Pogacar–Van Aert-van der Poel-Evenepoel battle in 2024.  “Next year may be too early," he said. "I wouldn't put a date on it, but one day Remco will be at the start of the Tour of Flanders."