Remco Evenepoel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɛmkoː ˈeːvənəpul];[4] born 25 January 2000) is a Belgian professional cyclist and Olympic gold medalist[5] who rides for UCI WorldTeam Soudal–Quick-Step.[6]
Evenepoel is widely regarded as one of the best time trialists of his generation;[7][8] he is a two-time UCI world champion (2023 and 2024), Olympic champion (2024), and European champion (2019). He has also found success in one-day classics, winning Liège–Bastogne–Liège twice in 2022 and 2023, the UCI road race world championship in 2022, and Olympic road race in 2024. Evenepoel also won the Vuelta a España in 2022, becoming the first Belgian to win a Grand Tour since 1978.[9]
The son of former cyclist Patrick Evenepoel, Remco began his sporting career as a footballer, playing as a midfielder in the youth ranks of R.S.C. Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven, and the Belgian national youth teams. After switching to cycling in 2017, he dominated the junior ranks by winning the road race and time trial in the junior categories at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships. Evenepoel elected to skip the under-23 level, turning professional in 2019 with Deceuninck–Quick-Step (now Soudal–Quick-Step). In his debut professional season, he became the youngest winner of a UCI WorldTour race by winning the Clásica de San Sebastián at age 19.[10]
After a career-threatening injury in 2020 at Il Lombardia, Evenepoel returned to racing at the 2021 Giro d'Italia. For his achievements in 2022, Evenepoel was awarded the Vélo d'Or, given to the most successful cyclist of the season.[11] In 2024, Evenepoel made his debut at the Tour de France, where he placed third overall behind Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, also taking home the young rider's classification. Shortly after the Tour, Evenepoel became the only male cyclist to win both the Olympic time trial and road race, achieving both at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[5]
- ^ Becket, Adam (28 April 2023). "21 things you didn't know about Remco Evenepoel". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Remco Evenepoel | Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team". Soudal–Quick-Step. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ Ryan, Barry (31 December 2019). "2020 Team Preview: Deceuninck - Quick-Step". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ "Win for Koksijde REMCO Evenepoel - prijzen". YouTube. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Belgium's Remco Evenepoel rides to cycling HISTORY in men's road race". NBC Sports YouTube channel. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Deceuninck – Quick-Step". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "Everything about Remco Evenepoel". Cyclinguptodate. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ "INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL RANKING". Lantern Rouge. April 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ "Remco makes history in La Vuelta Ciclista a Espãna". UCI. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ Davidson, Tom (24 August 2023). "Josh Tarling equals record for youngest winner of a UCI WorldTour race". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ Fletcher, Patrick (1 December 2022). "Annemiek van Vleuten, Remco Evenepoel win 2022 Velo d'Or awards". CyclingNews. Retrieved 3 November 2024.