Remco Evenepoel: '22-year-old riders winning the Tour is motivating'

Remco Evenepoel said it’s “motivating” to see 22-year-old riders winning the Tour de France.

Belgian star Evenepoel, tipped as a future Grand Tour star himself, said what Tadej Pogačar has done is “incredible” as he became the youngest Tour winner since 1904. 

Last year, Ineos rider Egan Bernal also made history when he became the first Colombian winner at the age of 22. 

Evenepoel, who is recovering from a pelvis fracture after an awful crash at the 2020 Il Lombardia, was scheduled to make his three-week debut at the Giro d’Italia next month, before the season-ending fall. 

He told cycling Belgian broadcaster RTBF: “The fact that riders of 22 years old win the Tour is motivating.

“What [Pogačar] has shown is incredible. For [Primož] Roglič, it was a shame that he had his bad day at the worst possible time, but the battle between the two was beautiful. And the time trial on Saturday, that was a spectacle. It is a good thing that there was still a battle for victory.” 

Pogačar’s momentous victory in the stage 20 time trial to La Planche des Belles Filles was the most memorable Grand Tour turnaround since Chris Froome’s solo attack in the 2019 Giro.

The UAE Team Emirates rider overturned a minute deficit to Roglič, whose Jumbo-Visma team had controlled the Tour for most of the race.

Evenepoel, 20, is part of a phenomenal wave of young riders who have dominated WorldTour racing in the last two seasons, along with the likes of Pogačar and Bernal. 

After joining Deceuninck - Quick-Step in 2019, Evenepoel comfortably lived up to the hype, winning Clásica San Sebastian last season and taking overall victory in four out of four stage races this year. 

>>> ‘He was so fit I asked him not to touch the bike for a week’: Tadej Pogačar’s coach on the Tour de France winner’s remarkable form  

Evenepoel says he does not plan to make his Tour de France debut next season, as he would prefer to focus on the postponed Tokyo Olympics.