'More or less the perfect first participation' - Evenepoel shines in Flanders debut

“Yeah, I think it is more or less the perfect first participation for me,” Evenepoel told Eurosport when asked if he would participate again at the Ronde.

The Belgian silenced any concerns over his positioning with a lack of experience on the cobbles when he made the first key selection on the slopes of the Molenberg with just over 100km remaining, having been positioned at the front with his Red Bull teammates.

“I think what the team did to bring me in position to Eikenberg and also Molenberg was amazing. It was really hectic, but I think we managed very well,” said Evenepoel.

The Olympic champion was able to initially match Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel on the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, but found himself distanced towards the crest of the Paterberg just a few kilometres later. 

“Once the race opened up, it was the legs that decided, and I think I finished in the position that I deserved today,” said Evenepoel.

The three-time world champion in the time trial refused to relent on the sections in between the cobbles and bergs. In the process, he maintained a similar time gap to the front duo for a large stretch of the race, meaning that Pogačar and Van der Poel had to continue to press on ahead to keep Evenepoel at bay.

Evenepoel was pleased with how he shaped up to the duo in this department, and admitted that it was his explosiveness on the cobbles that cost him the chance to fight for victory deep into the race.

“I think I felt compared to Mathieu and Tadej that the really short explosive efforts in the saddle are completely different compared to them,” said Evenepoel.

“So I think that's going to be the only thing that needs to change. 
I think that's the only point where they really were stronger and better than me, because, yeah, for a very long time, I was really equal to them in terms of riding in between the climbs,” added the Belgian.

In the end, Evenepoel soloed in for third place, 1:11 behind Pogačar, a fine debut performance that the Belgian was pleased about.

“But then, yeah, I think for the first time was very good, and yeah, I think we can only be happy with today’s race,” said Evenepoel.

The idea was also put to Evenepoel that if he were to focus more on Classics, the gap to Pogačar and Van der Poel could be closed. 

“I hope so. That would be good,” said Evenepoel, before giving an indication that we could see plenty more of the Olympic Champion on the cobbles in the coming seasons.

“I think the luxury thing is if you focus only on the Tour [de France], there is some gap in between, so you could focus on the Classics. 
So maybe that's where we and I will want to go for next year."