Van Aert welcomes Evenepoel to Tour of Flanders - 'I hope it's not an April Fool's joke'
Announced on April Fool's Day, of all days, Remco Evenepoel’s long-awaited debut at the Tour of Flanders this Sunday is no joke, but the Olympic champion's competitors aren't particularly surprised by the news.
The rumour mill had been swirling all week, but Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe finally confirmed the news on Wednesday, injecting fresh excitement into one of cycling’s most prestigious races.
In Roeselare, at the sign on for Dwars door Vlaanderen, the final race ahead of Sunday’s main event, riders reacted to the news without much surprise, including Wout van Aert, who hopes to be in contention for victory after some strong recent outings.
"He is welcome, I think it's great news,” Van Aert told Sporza. ”I hope it's not an April Fool's joke."
"The Tour of Flanders deserves the best possible field of riders. Remco certainly deserves a place. Am I surprised? No, I had a feeling it could happen,” added Van Aert.
Alongside Van Aert and Tadej Pogačar, Evenepoel will also go head-to-head with Mathieu van der Poel for only the second time in his career at a Monument, after the 2020 edition of Il Lombardia.
Van der Poel has the opportunity to win a record-breaking fourth Ronde, and his teammate Tibor Del Grosso reflected on what Evenepoel’s appearance means for the race dynamics.
"A very strong competitor is joining the ranks. If Remco rides, he competes to win. It's hard to give him a gap,” said Del Grosso to Sporza. "It will be difficult to do it perfectly right away, but he has a very good team. With a good plan, he can go far,” added the Dutchman.
Another man who wasn’t surprised by the news was Evenepoel’s former teammate, Yves Lampaert, a two-time winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen.
"I'm certainly not surprised by it. "I heard that news in February,” Lampaert told Sporza. “There was speculation about it, yes. Some didn't believe it, but I did."
Lampaert, however, wished the Olympic Champion’s debut had come earlier, while Evenepoel was still at Soudal Quick-Step.
"I would have loved to see it happen in our team already, that he had participated in the Ronde. If Remco participates, it will be for the podium places. This is certainly to ride for a result. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here."
The Tour of Flanders takes place on Sunday, April 5, over 278.2km from Antwerp to Oudenaarde, with Tadej Pogačar being the defending champion.
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