Patrick Lefevere admits mixed feelings as Evenepoel finally makes Flanders debut

Speaking at Dwars door Vlaanderen to Het Laatste Nieuws, the former Soudal Quick-Step CEO admitted the news comes with mixed emotions, given Evenepoel consistently resisted the idea during their time together.

“I told him for years that he should ride Flanders, but back then he didn’t want to,” Lefevere said. “Now maybe there are people around him who have more influence. It seems he has changed his mind and that someone has convinced him.”

Lefevere’s remarks reflect a long running discussion within the team. As far back as the spring of 2023, when Soudal Quick-Step struggled in the cobbled Classics, there were already strong suggestions that Evenepoel could be drafted into the Tour of Flanders line up. Those rumours faded when he instead travelled to Tenerife for altitude training ahead of his Giro d’Italia campaign.

Now, three years later and with a new team behind him, Evenepoel is set to line up in Antwerp for the first time.

Despite his past frustrations, Lefevere believes Evenepoel has the qualities to be competitive straight away, even against the biggest names in the race.

“He won’t be inferior to riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar or Wout van Aert,” he said. “Winning is never easy, of course, but if you’re good enough, a lack of experience in Flanders doesn’t necessarily matter.”

He also highlighted the importance of team support, pointing to Gianni Vermeersch as a key figure in the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe line up.

“With Vermeersch, he has a clever rider alongside him someone who knows how to race and is always there at the right moment. That’s the kind of rider Evenepoel can really benefit from.”

While Lefevere admitted he would have preferred to see Evenepoel take on Flanders during their time together, he ultimately views the decision as a positive one. “It’s good news that he’s riding it,” he said. “Of course I could say he should have done it with us, but I’m not losing sleep over it.”