Evenepoel enjoyed Van Aert's Roubaix win and leaves door open for 2027 debut - 'Super fun to see'

Remco Evenepoel is currently preparing for the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, where he headlines the start list and will come head-to-head with defending champion Mattias Skjelmose. 

The duo caught Tadej Pogačar in the finale twelve months ago, and in the three-man sprint to the finish that followed, Skjelmose came out on top, with Evenepoel having to settle for third. 

Evenepoel was asked if he felt he had a score to settle, having come so close last year, but the Belgian didn’t view it that way.

“No, not necessarily. It is a race I want to win in my career anyway,” Evenepoel told Het Laatste Nieuws. “So, I think I had a lot of bad luck last year in the race here with that crash early in the race and then being chased for a long time.”

“So it’s not necessarily that I’m starting here with feelings of revenge, but certainly with a lot of motivation to try and win the race,” said Evenepoel. 

Evenepoel’s recent display at the Tour of Flanders, where he finished 3rd on debut behind Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel, indicates that he will be a tough man to beat at the Amstel Gold Race, one which he has yet to add to his glittering palmarès. 

Following his impressive debut at Flanders, attention quickly turned to the potential of Evenepoel also featuring at Paris-Roubaix. 

That prospect was quickly ruled out, but Evenepoel was asked if he managed to watch the action, where his compatriot Wout van Aert won an elusive cobbled Monument for the first time in his career. 

“Honestly, no, because I had six or seven hours of training myself that day. So I spent longer on my bike than those guys that day,” said Evenepoel, who later caught the highlights and enjoyed seeing Van Aert’s triumph.

“It was super fun to see how Wout [van Aert] could win this. Our team was very good again too,” said Evenepoel. “When you also see how Mathieu [van der Poel] was riding around, that was phenomenal of course, being so far behind and still finishing within five or ten seconds.”

“So, it was a race full of bad luck and all sorts of side issues. So, it was spectacular to be able to see the highlights afterwards,” said Evenepoel.

When asked about the prospect of making his debut at the Hell of the North in 2027, Evenepoel once more remained open but non-committal. 

“I don't know yet. I think that will be discussed and, possibly, some kind of exploration or something like that will be planned. But I don't think that is known right now, of course,” said Evenepoel.