Remco Evenepoel, the greatest Belgian cyclist of his generation

Who could have known when he was born on 25 January 2000 that Remco Evenepoel would become one of the greatest cyclists Belgium has ever seen? Well, it may have been written in the stars because his father, Patrick, was a professional cyclist from 1991 to 1994, but even Remco himself thought he would go down a different path.

He was in fact a promising footballer rather than a budding cyclist. He played for RSC Anderlecht from a very young age, spent four years at PSV, came back to Belgium and finished his shortlived soccer career at KV Mechelen...but did you know that the man who got Belgium two olympic medals in cycling in Paris also represented his country in football, playing five matches for the Red Devils’ under-16 squad?

The change of heart was inevitable, however, and Remco started racing bikes in April 2017. Two months later he won his first race, and he finished his first year with no less than seven wins. If that’s not a sign of exceptional talent, we don’t know what is, and it was reconfirmed the next year when he became the Belgian, European and world champion in both time trialling and on the road as a junior. This kid was unstoppable.

So good was Remco that he has drawn many comparisons to the undeniable greatest of all time, fellow Belgian Eddy “The Cannibal” Merckx. While some call him the Aero Bullet because of his prowess in the time trialling discipline, others have referred to him as the Little Cannibal, and the legend himself has not denied that Remco has put down some Merckxian performances.

While the best is undoubtedly yet to come for Remco Evenepoel, 2024 was quite the year for him, with multiple beautiful wins including both the points and King of the Mountains jerseys in Paris-Nice, the youth ranking and third place in the Tour de France, olympic gold in not one but two disciplines, and an extension of his time trialling world champion title. He’s also won the Tour of Spain, more commonly known as the Vuelta.

What’s next for his already impressive list of accomplishments, only time will tell, but so far it seems like Remco Evenepoel is on top of the world. Long may he stay there, and may cycling fans the world over enjoy his career for many years to come.

Photo: © Albinfo (CC BY-SA 4.0)