CyclistI handle the stress pretty well: Remco Evenepoel profileRemco Evenepoel is sitting on a stage in a Mallorcan arts studio, dressed in an unbranded blue hoodie, talking up his programme of racing for 2026. Alongside him, Primo Rogli, his new Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate, cranes his neck and stares a little disinterestedly at the ceiling. In the twilight of his career, nothing seems to impress Rogli that much anymore. When Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohes big-name, big-money signing is unveiled to the worlds media on a balmy winter afternoon, the Slovenian looks on the verge of stifling a yawn.Been there, done that, Roglis body language says, not that his indifference is ever likely to deflect his young Belgian teammates burning ambition. In what was the most anticipated transfer deal yet in the WorldTour peloton, Evenepoel has been hired to topple Tadej Pogaar and win the Tour de France. Now, as they gather at training camp, his new team is swinging into action behind him.Rogli has, of course, been there and done that, most notably during the multi-leadership days at Jumbo-Visma, when he rode shotgun to Jonas Vingegaard and became a key player in the Danes 2022 Tour de France success. But the approach left the team with too many chiefs at times too, specifically during the 2023 Vuelta a Espaa, when both Rogli and Vingegaard were stood down by the team, and the popular Sepp Kuss given a free road to final victory in Madrid. Famously, Rogli didnt approve.Now, after paying a multi-million-euro buyout clause on his last contract with Soudal QuickStep, Evenepoel is the latest jewel in the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe crown, although only a handful of months back, before Florian Lipowitz finished third in the 2025 Tour and Evenepoel was signed, the Slovenian himself was top dog.Not for the first time, Rogli has had to move over and make way for the kids, settling for yet another tilt at the Vuelta instead of one more run at the Giro dItalia or the Tour. Is he really OK with missing what might be his last chance to win the Tour? Apparently so, although when the Tour is mentioned later in the day, he does suggest hed rather be riding it again and lifting his arms in the air one more time.Pete GodingThrough what turns into a long afternoon of media interviews, Evenepoel is asked repeatedly if (a) he can beat Tadej Pogaar; (b) why hes not planning to ride the Tour of Flanders and (c) if he and Lipowitz can work together in the Tour de France. Lipowitz was the surprise package in the 2025 Tour, finishing on the podium alongside Vingegaard and race winner Pogaar, a year after Evenepoel had himself placed third in Paris.Even though both riders are the same age, when the 25-year-old German speaks he comes across as shy and a little hesitant. That diffidence contrasts sharply with Evenepoels clear-eyed confidence. But then his ease in front of the microphones is hardly a surprise. He has been around the sporting scene for a long time, first as a footballing youth team talent who might have turned professional, and now as a Grand Tour winner, World Champion and double Olympic gold medallist.He is media-savvy, and when at the end of the afternoon Cyclists photographer finally gets the chance to shoot him for this feature, he switches easily between smiling Remco, moody Remco, determined RemcoYou cant escape the feeling that after making the move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, he will be a different rider to the occasionally tetchy athlete weighed down by Soudal QuickSteps hesitancy over committing fully to his stage racing ambitions.I have all my information from the past in my backpack, he says when we sit down and chat. Ive taken it to this new team and now its up to our collaboration to become a new version of myself.Punching through the roofIf he really wants to beat Pogaar in the Tour, Evenepoel will have to step up to yet another level. He knows this.Everybody wants to win the Tour, he says, but everybody knows that Tadej has been outstanding. For us its important to go to the Tour with a really strong team to prove we have a big future. We are aiming to be the best team in the world.There are huge expectations from the Belgian media too, who rounded on him a little unfairly after he quit last Julys Tour during the Pyrenean stages due to sickness. He smiles and gestures to the journalists and camera crews packing their kit up nearby.Theyre all still here, he says. In the end, its normal. I have been on the highest level for a few years and won quite a lot of races for Belgium in the Worlds and the Olympics, so theres going to be a lot of expectations. It would be bad if there werent any but Ill have good people around me here to deal with that, he adds. Communication is a very strong point in this team.In the end, after all the speculation over his career plans, the move to Red Bull, which now owns a majority stake in the co-sponsored team, became an inevitability. But it might have been different. Ineos Grenadiers were reportedly closing in on his signature as far back as 2023, with speculation fuelled by the teams need for a high-profile team leader with room to grow as a Grand Tour contender, his friendship with Ineoss Geraint Thomas and the Belgians frustrations with Soudal QuickStep.Evenepoel celebrates on the podium after his 2022 Vuelta a Espaa win.At the time, when asked at the 2023 World Championships in Scotland if he was close to moving to Ineos, Evenepoel dismissed the rumours as shit. Now however hes more honest about why the deal fell through.It was pretty close, he says, but adds, there were some delays and I couldnt really wait any more.Its no secret that the 7m buyout clause from Soudal QuickStep was also a sticking point for Ineoss head of sport, Dave Brailsford. Instead, with Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe and Brailsfords focus switching to football following the part-acquisition of Manchester United, the Evenepoel deal hit the buffers. But all the time the Belgian was growing increasingly frustrated.There was this roof that I wanted to punch through, but I wasnt getting there. I was frustrated with the fact that we were he pauses, blocked. I stayed because I was promised things, a lot of changes, and I believed it. Then at some point I felt, OK, this is never going to happen, its a no-brainer, I need change.There were a lot of ideas but they never worked out, whereas here they have an idea and everybody goes for it. With so many smart people around me, with the group of riders going up in level, this opens a lot of doors. Related Posts Its a great history were making: Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney profile I felt I was playing a character: Bradley Wiggins profile 'We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist': race director Marion Rousse profile Arsenals lossWhen Cyclist asks Evenepoel about his footballing career, he looks taken aback.Is this a serious question? he says. In fact it is, because the one characteristic that comes up time and time again when his footballing attributes are discussed is his energy, drive and on-field leadership skills. Although he was small, as a young player he quickly got noticed.When I was 13, playing at PSV in Eindhoven, I got scouted, and the first team that really wanted to invite me was Arsenal.Despite the move not working out, it clearly made a lasting impression on Evenepoel. After watching the team play in April 2024, he admitted that he has been a huge fan of Arsenal since being a kid. In the end though, despite playing for Belgiums youth team, he was let go by Belgian side Anderlecht and that was that. Ironically, the reason cited for the clubs decision to drop the World and Olympic time-trial champion was his lack of speed.I played football until I was 17 so I got quite close to being a professional. The lifestyle is different. It takes a lot less time out of your day, theres more money. I could have stayed with football but Im very happy with the choice I made.Yet he admits that every now and then, when times have been tough, and particularly when hes been recovering from injury, he has pondered what a life in football would have been like.Ive thought I could have had an easier life playing football. Its different. In cycling you have to do five or six hours in the rain, you have crashes, you break bones.In fact crashes some very bad ones have played a big part in Evenepoels development as a bike rider. There was his topple off a bridge at Il Lombardia in 2020, then the horror crash in the 2024 Tour of the Basque Country that also took down Vingegaard and Rogli, and most recently in December 2024 an incident with a postal vans door that forced months of rehabilitation.It was the same shoulder that Id damaged six months earlier, he remembers. It was really bad, like a repeat. I knew how much Id suffer during the rehab, that the surgery would not be good for my body, that Id lose shape, capacity, time.I knew the Tour would come around quick, and Id been off the bike with this injury for almost three months with the shoulder. I had from February to the end of June to prepare. That was all I had its nothing.Pete GodingThe injury pulled him into a spiral of self-doubt, which, he has hinted, bordered on depression.Im quite direct, so when I have a bad moment, like when I abandoned the Tour, I didnt need to talk with the mental coach. I was like, OK, I felt this was coming. I was able to refocus pretty quickly and I think thats one of the reasons for my performances at the end of the 2025 season. But with my shoulder injury I really needed to speak about it because the injury was quite severe and it was 14 weeks off the bike, so I was in really bad shape.I started to doubt if Id get back to a good level, being able to perform in the Tour. In those kinds of moments, its good to speak about it.I think Im mentally quite strong. I usually come back from setbacks at a good level. When theres a lot of pressure, usually Im at my best. I handle the stress pretty well.But there was one other crash that left a more profound scar and which may also explain why hes perfectly happy to be outspoken, particularly about safety, when he needs to be. Evenepoel was racing in the 2023 Tour de Suisse, descending just ahead of Gino Mder, when the 26-year-old Swiss rider crashed on a fast descent and died.Ive had some bad accidents but Im still on the bike. Others have died. Gino was 20 seconds behind me when he crashed.Has safety improved since then?Theyre doing a bit, he says, but its not as impressive as we wanted. Sometimes the decisions being made about equipment and stuff are complete nonsense, mostly about safety. But then we have to do descents where there is a hundred-metre ravine.On descents where they have an open corner, at least put some protection. In skiing, if they go into the net at 200kmh, they might break something but theyre still alive. In cycling, if you miss the corner you might be done.Strong-willed, opinionated and driven, Evenepoel isnt ever likely to be one to back down. As the only rider to rival and in fact, during the Worlds time-trial in Rwanda, to drop Pogaar in the latter half of 2025, his defiant nature shines through.One of the first things Ralph Denk said to me when we talked about me coming to his team was, Dont change your character.I know sometimes it can be a bit controversial in cycling, but in the end I really dont care. Whatever I think is important to say, I will say. And I dont think it matters who I say it to.Evenepoel in the yellow jersey during Stage 6 of the 2025 Critrium du Dauphin. He would finish the race fourth overall.A.S.O./Billy CeustersThe rise of RemcoEvenepoels journey from promising footballer to pro cycling megastar2000Remco Evenepoel is born in Aalst in East Flanders, the son of Patrick, a former pro cyclist who achieved modest success in the early 1990s.2016A pelvic fracture derails Remcos progress as a promising young footballer, leading to his release from club side Anderlecht and his decision to switch his focus to cycling.2017In his first classified race, the four-stage Aubel-Thimister-Stavelot in Belgium, immediately catches the eye with a stage win and the points jersey.2018Marks himself as a star in the making by winning the road race and time-trial at both the European and World Junior Championships.2019Makes the step up to the WorldTour with Deceuninck-QuickStep, the number one-ranked team in the peloton under general manager Patrick Lefevere. An impressive first pro season sees wins at the Clsica San Sebastin and the Belgium Tour as well as second in the World Championships Time-Trial.2020Wins three lesser stage races during a Covid-curtailed season before dominating the Tour of Poland in a field containing Jonas Vingegaard and Simon Yates. Suffers a serious career setback after crashing into a ravine at Il Lombardia in August, which will see him miss the entire spring Classics campaign the following year.2021Returns to racing in May at the Giro dItalia, his first Grand Tour, and goes on to win the Tour of Belgium and Tour of Denmark later in the year.2022Comes of age as one of the worlds top riders by winning Lige-Bastogne-Lige, the Vuelta a Espaa and the World Championships Road Race.2023Doubles up at Lige-Bastogne-Lige among a host of top victories, but despite five stage wins disappoints on GC at both the Giro (DNF) and Vuelta (12th).2024Finishes on the podium in his first Tour de France then wins gold in both the road race and time-trial at the Olympic Games in Paris.2025Finds his form after an injury-curtailed start to the season, finishing the year strongly by winning his third consecutive World Championships Time-Trial in Rwanda.2026Makes the switch to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe after seven years with Soudal QuickStep, with the Tour de France likely to be his chief target for the year.Pete GodingEvenepoel onHis scope for improvementI can still improve a lot of things. Training-wise I have already done quite a lot of new things over the past few weeks. Its a different approach and every new stimulus has a positive impact so I think I can improve in general.His ability to win more Grand ToursI know that if everything goes well I can reach a very high level. I want to be the best. Its also my ambition to win the Tour, to win the Giro. I want to win all the races that its possible to win.The growth of rider negotiating power within the pelotons top teamsIts better to talk first within the team, to get things sorted out. Cycling is still old school, but things are changing, with my transfer being such a big deal.Leaving Soudal QuickStep for Red Bull-Bora-HansghroheIm happy that Im here, that Im discovering new things, that I have new people around me. I feel that we will achieve great things together.The post I handle the stress pretty well: Remco Evenepoel profile appeared first on Cyclist.