Due to a training accident in December, Remco had to grit his teeth and watch from the sidelines during the first months of 2025. However, the Belgian fought his way back and still became one of the standout performers of the past cycling season, following a year with some peaks but also a deep valley. What will we remember from his cycling year? WielerFlits takes a look back!
In the weeks when Tadej Pogacar soloed memorably to victory at Strade Bianche and Mathieu van der Poel kicked off his cycling year with a win at Le Samyn, Remco Evenepoel had to limit himself to grinding out training kilometres. This was all the result of a crash in December 2024. The rider from Soudal Quick-Step was training when he was caught off guard by a suddenly opening door of a Bpost vehicle. Evenepoel crashed hard, and the medical verdict was harsh: the Belgian suffered multiple fractures and injuries.
What followed was a long and at times arduous rehabilitation. The pain in his shoulder just wouldn’t subside, but Evenepoel persevered, and on Friday April 18, it finally happened: at the Brabantse Pijl we finally saw the return of the 'Aerobullet from Schepdaal.' Evenepoel immediately made his mark on the treacherous Flemish Brabant roads. In fact, after a particularly exciting race, he was sprinting against his compatriot Wout van Aert for the win. On paper, it was probably an uneven battle, but it was the incredibly strong Evenepoel who skillfully outpaced the normally faster Van Aert.
This brought strong emotions for the relieved Evenepoel, who in the lead-up to his comeback had already spoken of 'the toughest fight of his life.' He even doubted the further course of his career. His father Patrick witnessed it all up close. "This new setback was difficult to cope with. For me, the most important thing is that mentally he’s feeling good again. That he’s once again the person we know. We didn’t recognize Remco for two to three months. People need to realize he himself didn’t know if things would turn out well."
But things did turn around. After his emotional victory at the Brabantse Pijl, Evenepoel continued his momentum, as in the following Amstel Gold Race he battled until the last meters for victory, having earlier in the race personally reeled in the escaped world champion Tadej Pogacar. His performance at Liège-Bastogne-Liège – his main target for the spring – ended in disappointment, but at the Tour of Romandie he took a sort of sporting revenge with a win in the time trial.
After a generally successful spring, Evenepoel prepared for the Tour de France through a training camp and the Critérium du Dauphiné. The leader of Soudal Quick-Step hoped, after his third place in 2024, to contend for overall victory and to put pressure on the big favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard – together winners of five Tours at that point.
photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
After the first week there was reason for optimism, Evenepoel even winning the first individual time trial to Caen, but in the Pyrenees he repeatedly hit the wall. The third encounter was too much. On the slopes of the iconic Col du Tourmalet, during the stage to Luchon-Superbagnères, the Belgian Tour hopeful withdrew ignominiously. And so he took a backdoor exit from the Tour de France.
With one illusion lost and sobered up, Evenepoel then took a step back, but the Belgian managed to pick himself up again with the World Championships in sight. At the Worlds in Rwanda, Evenepoel got his sporting revenge in grand style by racing impressively to a third consecutive world title in the time trial.
🚴🌈 | Who would have thought? Evenepoel is riding a rock-solid time trial and even catches Pogacar! 🥊🥊 #Kigali2025
📺 Stream the race on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/PvUKb5XWf7
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) September 21, 2025
He was responsible on Rwandan soil for one of the cycling moments of 2025 by eating up the two-and-a-half-minute lead that Pogacar had been given. A painful moment for the Slovenian, who had dared to declare beforehand that he wanted the world title. With a new rainbow jersey, Evenepoel thus put an exclamation mark on his season after all.
That wasn’t the end, as two more silver medals followed (Worlds and Europeans) behind the seemingly unbeatable Pogacar of 2025, a new European time trial title, and a second place in the Giro di Lombardia, behind, yes, Pogacar.
For Evenepoel, this marked a memorable end to 'seven wonderful seasons at Soudal Quick-Step.' In the new cycling year, REV no longer wears the jersey of the team where he grew from a robust talent into an established star, but that of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.
