Remco Evenepoel (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈrɛmkoːˈeːvənəpul];[5] born 25 January 2000) is a Belgian professional cyclist and Olympic gold medalist[6] who rides forUCI WorldTeamSoudal–Quick-Step.[7]
Evenepoel is regarded as the besttime trialist of his generation;[8] he is a three-timeUCI world champion (2023,2024 and2025), Olympic champion (2024), and two-time European champion (2019 and2025). He has also found success in one-day classics, winningLiège–Bastogne–Liège twice in 2022 and 2023, theUCI road race world championship in2022, andOlympic road race in 2024. Evenepoel also won theVuelta a España in2022, becoming the first Belgian to win aGrand Tour since 1978.[9]
The son of former cyclistPatrick Evenepoel, Remco began his sporting career as a footballer, playing as a midfielder in the youth ranks ofR.S.C. Anderlecht,PSV Eindhoven, and theBelgian national youth teams. After switching to cycling in 2017, he dominated the junior ranks by winning the road race and time trial in the junior categories at the2018 UCI Road World Championships. Evenepoel elected to skip the under-23 level, turning professional in 2019 with Deceuninck–Quick-Step (now Soudal–Quick-Step). In his debut professional season, he became the youngest winner of aUCI WorldTour race by winning theClásica de San Sebastián at age 19.[10]
After a career-threatening injury in 2020 atIl Lombardia, Evenepoel returned to racing at the2021 Giro d'Italia. For his achievements in 2022, Evenepoel was awarded theVélo d'Or, given to the most successful cyclist of the season.[11] In 2024, Evenepoel made his debut at theTour de France, where he placed third overall behindTadej Pogačar andJonas Vingegaard, also taking home theyoung rider's classification. Shortly after the Tour, Evenepoel became the only male cyclist to win both the Olympic time trial and road race, achieving both at the2024 Summer Olympics.[6]
Remco Evenepoel was born on 25 January 2000 inAalst, Belgium to Agna andPatrick Evenepoel.[12] His father was briefly a professional cyclist, best known for winning the 1993Grand Prix de Wallonie, before working as aplasterer, while his mother was ahairdresser.[13] Evenepoel started his sporting career as a football player, joiningR.S.C. Anderlecht's youth academy at the age of five.[13] At eleven, he switched toPSV Eindhoven before returning to Anderlecht three years later.[14][15]
Evenepoel played primarily as adefensive midfielder andleft back. At one point, he was considered one of Belgium's most promising talents,[16] making nine appearances for Belgium's U15 and U16 teams.[13] Although Evenepoel himself admitted in 2020 he "didn't have the best technique", he was well regarded for his stamina and leadership, captaining both Anderlecht and Belgium's youth teams.[13][16] During this time, Evenepoel also showed promise as a runner. At age 16, without any dedicated training, he entered theBrussels Half-Marathon, running the day after a football match, and finished 13th in 1:16:15.[16][17] After suffering apelvic fracture during a match, his football career took a downturn and he was released by Anderlecht in 2016. Evenepoel joinedKV Mechelen, who were prepared to offer him a professional contract after another six months, but Evenepoel instead chose to quit and pursue cycling full-time.[13]
In 2017, Evenepoel began cycling full-time. Initially, he was coached byFred Vandervennet [nl], former three-time Belgian marathon champion and friend of his father. In his first races, Evenepoel struggled with bike handling and riding in groups, with youth teammateDanny van der Tuuk recalling Evenepoel "couldn’t finish races" because of how often he crashed. His first win came in his tenth race as a junior.[18]
He won both thetime trial androad race at the2018 European Junior Road Cycling Championships. The gap between him and the second place rider in the road race was 9 minutes and 44 seconds over a distance of 118.8 km.[19][20]
Later in the year, Evenepoel also won both the road race and the time trial at theUCI Junior Road World Championships.[21]
Electing to skip the under-23 ranks, Evenepoel announced in July 2018 that he would joinDeceuninck–Quick-Step for the 2019 season.[22] For his first season, Evenepoel was scheduled to compete in shorter stage races, and skipped the cobbled, one-day Classic races.[23][24] In his debut race, theVuelta a San Juan, Evenepoel won the young rider classification and 9th overall whilst also winning his first professional podium in the stage 3 time trial behind teammateJulian Alaphilippe andValerio Conti.[25] Evenepoel's first professional victory came at theTour of Belgium, where he won the general classification as well as a stage and the points classification.[26] On 3 August 2019 Evenepoel scored his first World Tour victory when he won theClásica de San Sebastián. He escaped from the field, accompanied byToms Skujiņš about 20 km (12 mi) from the finish, dropping his companion on the last hill and soloing to victory.[27] He became the third-youngest rider ever to win acycling classic in the history of the sport.[28] On 8 August 2019, Evenepoel won the time trial at the2019 European Road Championships.[29] At theWorld Championships in September, Evenepoel would have been eligible to still ride in the under-23 category, but decided against it and started in the elite men's events.[30] He went on to win the silver medal in the time trial.[31] He spent much of the year sharing a room withPhilippe Gilbert who acted in a mentoring role.[32]
Evenepoel started the 2020 season at theVuelta a San Juan, where he won the individual time trial on stage 3 and the general classification.[33] He then competed at theVolta ao Algarve. Here, he won stage 2 as well as the final stage, a time trial, to clinch overall victory ahead ofMaximilian Schachmann.[34]
After the extended break in the cycling calendar due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, he won theVuelta a Burgos[35] and theTour de Pologne.[36]
Evenepoel suffered a serious accident atIl Lombardia on 16 August 2020. While descending theMuro di Sormano and after a sharp curve, he collided with a low wall on the side of a bridge and was thrown over it with the impact, falling in a dirt area near some trees, roughly 9 metres (30 ft) below the road.[37][38] No other cyclists were involved in the accident and he was swiftly removed from the scene by the emergency services, being conscious and responsive all the time. Hours later, his team reported that he had suffered a fractured pelvis and a right lung contusion, also stating that he would not be returning to competition in the near future.[39]
Evenepoel returned to competition in the2021 Giro d'Italia, finishing 7th in theprologue time trial, after which he said: "I was standing on the start ramp with some tears in my eyes. It was a hard way to come back and start the Giro like this. But immediately a top-10 spot, I didn't expect it – I'm really happy."[40] After spending the first 15 stages in the top-10 of the general classification, he crashed during stage 17 and was unable to continue the race.[41]
He competed in the rescheduled2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in both the road race and time trial earning a top 10 place in the latter. During the 2021 World Championships inFlanders he claimed his second elite level world championship medal, taking the bronze in the time trial. Evenepoel was the centre of a furore in the World road race. Ahead of the race, it was felt thatWout van Aert was the protected leader for a Belgian team that was very hopeful of a home win,[42] andEddy Merckx stated toHet Nieuwsblad that "If there is only one leader, you really shouldn't take Evenepoel [...] He rides mainly for himself; we saw that at the Olympics". Evenepoel responded "He always has to say something and that's a shame [...] Maybe it stings that I didn't ride forhis son's team. I have a lot of respect for Eddy and apparently that is not mutual." On the race ahead "I'm here to work for Belgium, for Wout, because I know that it's the chance of his life to be world champion. He's in the form of his life, and it would be stupid of me to ride for myself. On this parcours, no one is stronger than Wout. I said already a lot of times that I will do everything [for] Wout."[43]
In the road race Evenepoel appeared to answer Merckx' criticism that he is a selfish cyclist by joining an early attack with 180 km still to race, followed by a second mid-race attack, and then created the decisive selection in the finals laps.[44] Van Aert was unable to win the race, which was won byJulian Alaphilippe. After the race, people from the world of cycling such as Evenepoel's trade team bossPatrick Lefevere praised Evenepoel's strength and wondered if the Belgian team had made the wrong choice of leader.[45] Lefevere asked: "[W]hy did the Belgians want to break open the race so early? And above all, why did they throw Remco into the fray so early? For me, Remco was the best man in the race after Julian. But they just sacrificed him and rolled out the red carpet for Julian."[46]
Evenepoel responded to the criticism of Belgium's tactics by revealing that he felt he could have won the race but that "[o]n Friday evening before the World Championships there was a meeting with everyone. It was very unclear to me what exactly was expected of me. So after sleeping on it, the next day I went to coachesSven Vanthourenhout andSerge Pauwels and asked: 'What do you expect from me in concrete terms?' "I also said straight out that I thought I might be able to win the race in a certain scenario. 'Do I get a chance or not?' I asked. 'No,' was the answer."[44] This caused a rift in the team; Van Aert said "I expected to hear criticism because we didn't win but that it came from someone on the team is not smart and only serves to add fuel to the fire. It's a shame, and I regret it. Remco issued more criticism on TV than in the team meeting"[47] and "He was the one who agreed with the tactics, who agreed with the selection. He has been preaching for weeks on end how he was looking forward to it so I think it's really weird to turn 180 degrees now".[48]
Days after the race Belgian team-mateJasper Stuyven said that Evenepoel had failed to show up for the team debrief: "Everyone was there, except Remco [...] He was aware, but didn't think it was necessary. I think that is a shame, especially because he thought it necessary to say things on TV. That stuck with some of us. [...] I think that Remco should sometimes be slowed down by his entourage. He still has to learn when he can and cannot say things. Also, a super-strong rider – which he certainly is – should realise that some things should remain internal."[49]
On 24 April, at the age of 22, Evenepoel won his firstcycling monument inLiège–Bastogne–Liège after a 29.6 km solo effort with a 48-second lead on the runner-up. It was his first participation in thiscycling classic. He completed the 257.1 km with an average speed of 41.397 km/h, which was the fastest edition in the history of La Doyenne. He won the2022 Clásica de San Sebastián by launching a successful 44 kilometre solo attack, finishing nearly two minutes ahead of second-placedPavel Sivakov.[50]
In early September, Evenepoel won the2022 Vuelta a España, his firstGrand Tour triumph.[51] Evenepoel took thered jersey afterstage 6 of the race, which finished with a 800m climb to a mountain-top finish inSan Miguel de Aguayo. While the stage was won byJay Vine, Evenepoel managed to finish second, putting significant time into hisgeneral classification rivals, includingPrimož Roglič, the pre-race favorite.[52] Evenepoel extended his general classification lead to 2 minutes and 41 seconds after a dominant performance on thestage 10 individual time trial, finishing the 30.9 km course in 33 minutes and 18 seconds, 48 seconds ahead of second-place Roglič.[53] The following challenging mountain stages saw Roglič andEnric Mas claw back some time, reducing Evenepoel's general classification lead to as little as 1 minute and 26 seconds.[54] However, following Roglič's withdrawal from the race after a crash at the end of stage 16, Evenepoel wonstage 18, another mountain-top finish, securing a 2-minute and 7-second advantage over Mas, which would prove unassailable over the final 2 stages.[55] Arriving in Madrid, Evenepoel's margin of victory was 2 minutes and 2 seconds over second place Mas and 4 minutes and 57 seconds over third placeJuan Ayuso.[56]
In September, Evenepoel competed in both theIndividual Time Trial andRoad Race at the2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia. He finished 3rd in the time trial, 9 seconds behind winnerTobias Foss.[57] One week later, he won the road race, finishing two minutes and 21 seconds ahead of France'sChristophe Laporte.[58] Having made it into a breakaway with 32 km to go, Evenepoel managed to break free fromAlexey Lutsenko with 25 km to go and ride solo to the finish for his first World Championship victory at the Elite level.
On 23 April, Evenepoel wonLiège-Bastogne-Liège, winning the Monument for the second year in a row. He launched an attack onCôte de La Redoute; he attacked in the saddle, moving away from the peloton and onlyTom Pidcock was able to follow him. A few kilometres later, Evenepoel pushed hard on the pedals again and left Pidcock trailing, soloing 30 kilometres to retain the title.[59]
In May, Evenepoel competed in theGiro d'Italia as one of the main favourites for victory.[60] In the opening day time trial toOrtona, he won the stage to take therace leader's pink jersey, in the process gaining significant time on his general classification rivals.[61] After losing the race lead toAndreas Leknessund during the first week of the race, he reclaimed it following his victory in the stage 9 individual time trial. However, following a positive test for COVID-19 that same evening, Evenepoel was forced to withdraw from the race, handing the race lead toGeraint Thomas.[62]
Following his recovery, Evenepoel competed in theTour de Suisse. Here, he won stage 7 of the race, attacking on the last part of the stage neutralized for times on the general classification, followingGino Mäder's death due to a crash on a descent two days prior. Evenepoel dedicated his victory to Mäder.[63] He eventually finished the Tour de Suisse in third position overall.[64] After the Tour de Suisse, Evenepoel contested the national championships. In thetime trial, he placed only fourth following a crash on a wet course.[65] On 25 June, he won theroad race championship for the first time in his career, outsprintingAlec Segaert (Lotto–Dstny) at the finish line.[66] Later that summer, he took his third victory at theClásica de San Sebastián, coming out ahead in a two-man sprint againstPello Bilbao.[67]
On 11 August he wonthe time trial at the2023 UCI Road World Championships in Scotland, becoming the second cyclist (afterAbraham Olano) to win both the road race and the time trial at the World Championships.[68]
Evenepoel began his 2024 season with a win at theFigueira Champions Classic on February 11, completing a 53 km solo effort to victory.[69] He then secured the overall classification at theTour of the Algarve from February 14 to 18, with a notable performance in the stage 4 time trial, winning by 16 seconds.[70]
InParis-Nice, held from March 3 to 10, Evenepoel won the points and mountains classifications, while finishing second overall. He won the final stage 8, but despite repeated attacks, wasn't able to distance himself fromMatteo Jorgenson, the general classification winner.[71]
During theTour of the Basque Country, from April 1 to 6, Evenepoel abandoned the race due to injury following a serious crash on stage 4. The incident occurred during a high-speed descent and led to the neutralization of the race, affecting several other favorites, includingJonas Vingegaard andPrimož Roglič. Despite the severity of the crash, Evenepoel managed to walk to medical assistance on his own.[72] He sustained a broken collarbone and scapula, requiring surgery, which was successfully completed on April 6.[73]
Evenepoel made his race debut at the2024 Tour de France, held from June 29 - July 21. He was initially viewed as one of the three favorites to win the overall classification, alongsideJonas Vingegaard andTadej Pogacar. Evenepoel won one stage, the individual time trial on stage 7, where he bested Pogacar and Vingegaard by 12 and 37 seconds respectively.[74] He finished the Tour third overall, 3 minutes behind Vingegaard, 9 minutes behind Pogacar, and secured the best young rider's white jersey.[75]
On July 27, just 6 days after the conclusion of the Tour de France, Evenepoel won gold in theOlympic Time Trial at the2024 Paris Olympics, finishing 15 seconds ahead of Filippo Ganna.[76] A week later on August 3 he also won Olympic gold in theroad race despite suffering a tire puncture near the end of the race, becoming the first man to win gold medals in both road cycling events at the same Olympics. The 273 kilometer course through the streets of Paris was the longest Olympic road race to date.[77]
On September 22, almost 2 months after the conclusion of the Olympics, Evenepoel wonthe time trial at theWorld Championships inZürich, finishing 6 seconds ahead of Ganna. His chain dropped before the start and he rode without a power meter.[78] Evenepoel finished fifth in theroad race. Evenepoel finished his 2024 season with a second-place finish atIl Lombardia.[79]
On 3 December, Evenpoel collided with an open door of a postal vehicle, during a training ride in Belgium.[80] He suffered fractures to his ribs, shoulder blade and hand, as well as a dislocated collarbone and contusions to both lungs as a result of this.[81] He underwent a successful operation the following day.[82]
Evenepoel missed the early season while recovering from his injuries. He called the recovery process "the hardest battle of my life so far," particularly as it was the second shoulder injury he has suffered in the last nine months.[83] Evenepoel returned in time to ride theArdennes classics in April, hoping to recover peak performance in time for theTour de France[84]
In his first race back from injury, Evenepoel won theBrabantse Pijl in a two-up sprint againstWout van Aert.[85] Evenepoel finished third in theAmstel Gold Race, despite a crash midway through, and came ninth inLa Flèche Wallonne. Despite being listed by analysts as a pre-race favorite,[86] Evenepoel finished a disappointing 59th atLiège–Bastogne–Liège, saying after the race "I can't expect miracles" and that it would take time to return to his best form.[87]
At theTour de Romandie, Evenepoel struggled in the high mountains but won the final stage 5 time trial by 11 seconds overJoão Almeida, finishing in fifth place overall.[88] Evenepoel finished fourth overall at theCritérium du Dauphiné, again winning the lone time trial on stage 4. Next, he rode the Belgian championships, winning his second time trial by over a minute,[89] before finishing runner-up toTim Wellens in the road race.[90]
In July, Evenepoel started at theTour de France. He won the stage 5 time trial, moving into second overall behindTadej Pogačar, but struggled as the race moved into the mountains. After a 12th place finish on the stage 13 uphill time trial, which Evenepoel called "a really bad performance," he abandoned the next day.[91] At the time, he was third overall and leading theyoung rider classification.[92] After leaving the race, Evenepoel revealed he rode the Tour with a broken rib andsinusitis, a result of his crash at the Belgian championships.[93] He called his abandonment "the hardest decision I’ve made in a long time"[94]
In August, following months of speculation, Evenepoel announced he was signing a contract withRed Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe starting from the 2026 season.[4] Evenepoel's existing teamSoudal–Quick-Step agreed to release him from contract a year early, reportedly in exchange for $5 million compensation.[95]
At theUCI Road World Championships inKigali, Evenepoel won theelite time trial in a "dominant" performance, passing his rival Pogačar—who started two and a half minutes before—on the final climb over a distance of 40.6 km (25.23 mi).[8][96] It was Evenepoel's third consecutive world title, joiningMichael Rogers andTony Martin as the only male cyclists to do so.[97]
Evenepoel is the son of former professional cyclistPatrick Evenepoel, best known for winning theGrand Prix de Wallonie in 1993.[98][99] Since 2022, Evenepoel is married to Oumaïma Rayane, who he met in high school.[100][101][12]
Following Evenepoel's December 2024 injury, he stated on social media that he drew strength from his wife'sIslamic faith, saying "[i]t’s something that helps me go through life and it's something very, very beautiful."[83]
Evenepoel is fluent in Dutch, French, and English.[12]
Points classification
Road raceTime trial
Road race Time trial
Road raceTime trial OverallGiro della Lunigiana
Points classification
Mountains classification
OverallCourse de la Paix Juniors Points classification
Mountains classification OverallGP Général Patton Points classification Mountains classification OverallAubel–Thimister–Stavelot Points classification Mountains classification OverallTrophée Centre Morbihan Points classification Time trial,UEC European Road Championships OverallTour of Belgium Points classification
Time trial,UCI Road World Championships Young rider classification OverallVolta ao Algarve
Young rider classification OverallTour de Pologne
OverallVuelta a Burgos Young rider classification
OverallVuelta a San Juan Young rider classification
OverallDanmark Rundt Young rider classification OverallTour of Belgium
Road race
Time trial
Time trial,UCI Road World ChampionshipsRoad raceTime trialTime trial, National Road Championships OverallVuelta a EspañaYoung rider classification
OverallTour of Norway Young rider classification OverallVolta ao Algarve Young rider classification Young rider classification Young rider classificationTime trial,UCI Road World ChampionshipsRoad race OverallUAE Tour Young rider classificationMountains classification after Stages 3–5 after Stages 3–5 & 10–12
Combativity award Stages 14, 15, 17, 18 & Overall
Mountains classification
Young rider classification
Road raceTime trialTime trial OverallVolta ao Algarve
Points classification Mountains classificationYoung rider classificationTime trialRoad raceTime trialRoad raceTime trial after Stages 5–9 & 12–13| Grand Tour general classification results | |||||||||||||||
| Grand Tour | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia | — | — | DNF | — | DNF | — | — | ||||||||
| Tour de France | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | DNF | ||||||||
| Vuelta a España | — | — | — | 1 | 12 | — | — | ||||||||
| Major stage race general classification results | |||||||||||||||
| Major stage race | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||||||
 Paris–Nice | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | ||||||||
 Tirreno–Adriatico | — | — | — | 11 | — | — | — | ||||||||
 Volta a Catalunya | — | NH | — | — | 2 | — | — | ||||||||
| Tour of the Basque Country | — | — | 4 | — | DNF | — | |||||||||
| Tour de Romandie | 76 | — | — | — | — | 5 | |||||||||
 Critérium du Dauphiné | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 4 | ||||||||
| Tour de Suisse | — | NH | — | 11 | 3 | — | — | ||||||||
| Monument | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tour of Flanders | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Paris–Roubaix | — | NH | — | — | — | — | — |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 59 |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | DNF | 19 | — | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| Classic | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Brabantse Pijl | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | 1 |
| Amstel Gold Race | — | NH | — | — | — | — | 3 |
| La Flèche Wallonne | — | — | — | 43 | — | — | 9 |
| Clásica de San Sebastián | 1 | NH | — | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| Brussels Cycling Classic | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| Coppa Bernocchi | — | NH | 1 | — | — | 53 | — |
| Giro dell'Emilia | — | — | 5 | — | — | DNF | — |
| Event | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Olympic Games | Time trial | Not held | 9 | Not held | 1 | NH | ||
| Road race | 49 | 1 | ||||||
| World Championships | Time trial | 2 | — | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Road race | DNF | — | 62 | 1 | 25 | 5 | 2 | |
| European Championships | Time trial | 1 | — | 3 | — | — | — | 1 |
| Road race | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | |
| National Championships | Time trial | 3 | — | 2 | 1 | 4 | — | 1 |
| Road race | 84 | — | 3 | 37 | 1 | — | 2 | |
A statue on theFóia mountain in Portugal was based on Evenepoel's victory in stage 2 of the2020 Volta ao Algarve.[126]
demonstrated decisively on Sunday why he is considered the best time triallist of his generation
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