'We don't want a witch hunt' - Evenepoel still to confirm Belgian Championships withdrawal

Although Evenepoel has yet to confirm as much, it has been widely reported in Belgium that he will skip this weekend’s national championships road race as he completes his preparations for his first Tour de France in Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe colours.

Skipping national championships has become increasingly common for Tour de France contenders over the years. Jonas Vingegaard, for instance, has never raced the Danish championships in combination with the Tour. 

In Belgium, however, riders are formally obliged to race the national championships road race unless they present a medical certificate or some other valid justification for their absence. The punishment for skipping the Belgian Championships without permission is an eight-day ban – which would, of course, force the sanctioned rider to miss the Tour.

Wout van Aert, who has already been ruled out of the Tour following an infection to an elbow injury, is the most high-profile confirmed absentee from Sunday’s road race, which takes place in Brasschaat.

Speaking to Sporza on Thursday, however, Belgian Cycling sports director Massimo Van Lancker said that Evenepoel has not yet officially signalled his withdrawal from the race. 

“As far as I’m concerned, all the riders, including Remco Evenepoel, are still on the start list today. If we don’t receive any notification, we as the federation will assume they’ll be on the start line on Sunday,” Van Lancker said. “Just because a rider has a certain status or profile doesn’t mean we can make an exception.”

Although the provision for an eight-day suspension exists in the rulebook, it seems it has never been applied in practice. Two years ago, Evenepoel skipped the national championships ahead of his Tour debut, citing a cold. He would later place third overall in France.

Evenepoel’s expected absence in 2026 doesn’t seem likely to trigger any sanction from the Belgian federation either, despite the regulation.

“We certainly don’t want to turn this into a witch hunt. That’s not our intention with these rules either. Who are we, as a federation, to question a doctor?” Van Lancker said.

“If a doctor draws up a statement in good faith stating that a rider is not allowed to take part in the Belgian championships, should we then send a medical inspector to check that? That wouldn’t do the sport any favours either.”

Evenepoel has already confirmed that he will not defend his title in the individual time trial, which takes place on Friday. The race has been halved in distance from 41km to 20.5km due to the soaring temperatures.

Het Laatste Nieuws reports that the extreme heat has led many volunteers to withdraw their service, with the organisers appealing for an additional 60 volunteers to step in as replacements.