Remco Evenepoel’s father admits: 'We almost lost him as a person'

He describes to Het Nieuwsblad it as a shift they had to learn, not a switch that flipped overnight. “We had to learn it, absolutely. At the start I maybe wanted to interfere too much. But what do you expect? Remco was nineteen when he turned pro. Plus I had been in that cycling environment myself. I knew how strong you had to be to stay upright in it.”

He says it was never about control, but about protection, shaped by what the sport used to be.

“Especially in the past you could be played so easily, there were so many people you could not trust. Today that has undoubtedly improved. But as parents you automatically take on that protective role. You do not want your child to get hurt. Now I know that is not needed anymore. That Remco is strong enough and that he knows very well what he wants. But it has been an evolution.”

That evolution is familiar across elite sport, he says, because the same story plays out for other families too.

“We are not the only ones. I often send a message to Adrie van der Poel. It is the same for him. In the early phase with Mathieu he was much more closely involved. If he gives Mathieu advice now, the reaction is immediately: ‘What do you know about that?’

The conclusion of Evenepoel is simple. ‘They will make their own plan.’ I had better not give advice anymore. And I am certainly not going to interfere.”

The change is not only personal, it is also about the setting he is in now.

At Soudal Quick-Step, everything was closer and more familiar. People knew each other, routines were shared, access was easy. Now there is more distance, and Patrick calls it literal and figurative at the same time. 

“It is different. At Soudal Quick-Step we knew everyone. If Remco needed something from the service course, we could quickly drive there. If you arrived at a race, you went to the bus, you shook hands with everyone. That is gone now. There is more distance. Literally and figuratively. But maybe that is better?,” according to Evenepoel.

He links that distance to a healthier separation of responsibilities. 

“You could put it like that. Before I maybe sat too close to it. Or we were too good friends with some people. Now there are others who take care of him more. When I speak to Remco it is almost never about the sporting side anymore. How is training? How was the race? In the past I asked those questions. Today I know I am not his trainer or coach. Other people are there for that. Do not ask me anything about his programme. I read that in the newspapers like everyone else.”

Still, watching from slightly further away has not meant watching with less attention. Patrick says the most striking thing since the move is not tactical or physiological, but emotional. 

“That he wins easily so early in the year does not surprise me. That was the case at Soudal Quick-Step too. When he had a good winter, he was there straight away. As a neo pro he was already the best young rider in January in San Juan. And a few years ago he was second in the Tour of Valencia. Only it is different now. The last time we saw Remco was Christmas Eve. He already gave me a very relaxed impression. That has only become stronger. I see it on television, in our daily messages, or when I speak to him. It is as if a weight has fallen off him.”

Patrick is careful with what that implies about the past, but he does not hide that the reset has helped. 

“Nothing against Quick-Step. I keep saying what I always said: he had seven beautiful years there. But to improve, Remco felt he needed a new step. I like to compare it with Kompany and Lukaku at Anderlecht. Their heart will always be at Anderlecht. But they also left Anderlecht to take a step in their career. It is the same with Remco and Quick Step. A new air, a new environment, new motivation, this does him good.”

And when the conversation drifts toward results, he returns to the point that, for a parent, outweighs any finish line. 

“I wish it for him, but for me that is not important at all. Do you know what I have often thought about these past weeks? This exact period a year ago and how deep Remco was then. We really lost him as a person. Together with Oumi he climbed out of that valley. And to see how happy he is now, how well he feels, that is so much more important than performances. As a parent that gives such an immense satisfaction. No victory can compete with that.”

After five wins in eight race days, Remco Evenepoel resumes his season this week at the UAE Tour, where he is set for an early showdown with UAE Team Emirates’ prodigy, Isaac Del Toro.