Quick-Step doctor Vanmol - 'Without his manager, Evenepoel would have stayed'

Speaking on the Stamcafé Koers podcast, team doctor Yvan Vanmol reflected on the split. According to him, the departure was not driven primarily by Evenepoel himself, but by pressure from those around him.

“We had to say goodbye to him, and that hurt a lot of people,” Vanmol said. “When someone has been part of the team for so long, but the people around him keep saying it would be better to go elsewhere, then the story ends. At a certain point, the situation became unsustainable.”

Across seven seasons with the Belgian team, Evenepoel won 67 races, including the Vuelta a España and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, as well as becoming World and Olympic champion in that time.

Evenepoel was the star of the team, and Vanmol suggested that he still felt at home at Quick-Step. “Remco really enjoyed being with us. If his manager had not constantly applied that pressure, he would have stayed,” he said. “That manager is his father, Patrick. What I find most difficult is that he repeatedly portrayed our team as second-rate, which is absolutely not the case.”

Those comments, Vanmol said, left their mark inside the team. Patrick Evenepoel’s criticism caused frustration among staff and contributed to a sense that the split may ultimately have been for the best.

“That hurt a lot,” Vanmol added. “It led to several people within the team saying it was good that Remco had left.”

Still, Vanmol stressed that he has no personal criticism of Evenepoel himself. “As a person, I have absolutely nothing bad to say about him. He is grateful and polite.”

The team doctor did acknowledge that Evenepoel can appear short-tempered during races, particularly when events do not unfold as planned. But he believes that side of the Belgian should be seen in context.

“His reactions are sometimes those of a footballer,” Vanmol said. “In the peloton, that is not always appropriate. But the fact that he speaks his mind and openly expresses his ambitions is something I really admire. You should not be falsely modest, especially not with the list of achievements he has.”

Since joining Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has seven victories to his name, most notably the Amstel Gold Race. He also secured 3rd place finishes at Liège and the Tour of Flanders on debut. The Olympic Champion is now preparing for the Tour and won't race until the Grand Depart in Barcelona kicks off on July 4.