


Remco Evenepoel recently mentioned that he might race a more extensive classics program in the spring of 2026. Johan Museeuw would like to see that happen. According to the Lion of Flanders, Evenepoel can win all the major classics. “The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix would truly complete your palmarès.”
Evenepoel has sent two proposed race programs to the management of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. One is a ‘classics program’ combining the classics and the Tour de France (plan A), the second is a combination of the Giro d’Italia and the Tour (plan B). If it’s decided that the Belgian will not ride the Giro, the opportunity arises for Evenepoel to try Milan-San Remo and/or the Tour of Flanders. “As long as it doesn’t come at the expense of the ideal build-up to the Tour,” he said in a previous conversation with Het Laatste Nieuws.
In a joint interview with the same newspaper, Museeuw now says he hopes Evenepoel will choose plan A. “A classics segment combined with the Tour, then,” said the 60-year-old former pro. “Remember, Remco, our first meeting in your rookie year as a pro in Livigno, where you were training? I was sitting on a terrace at the table opposite you having a bite to eat. And I was wearing a T-shirt with the five classic Monuments on it. ‘If you want, you can win all these races,’ I said. ‘Yes, but the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are not goals for me,’ you replied. I was a bit shocked. ‘Okay, no problem,’ I thought.”
“But I repeat it here and now: all the big classics are within your reach. You have the luxury to choose from so many things you can win. The Tour is undeniably the highest goal, closely followed by the World Championship. But… the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix would truly make your palmarès complete. Pogacar didn’t just randomly set his sights on them.”
Evenepoel: “Maybe not this year yet”
For that reason, Evenepoel has ‘put on the table’ with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe that he would like to ‘explore the spring classics a bit more’, the 25-year-old Belgian himself reveals. “As far as my program allows it, of course,” he emphasizes. Laughing: “If you say so, Johan, I won’t be able to do anything but try it, right?”
“Maybe not this year yet. Someday. In the (near) future. Probably quicker in Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders than in Paris-Roubaix, I think. Because those first two suit me better. And are easier to combine with the Ardennes Classics.”
| Race | Date |
|---|---|
| 29 Jan | |
| 4 Feb - 8 Feb | |
| 23 Mar - 29 Mar | |
| 19 Apr | |
| 26 Apr | |
| 7 Jun - 14 Jun | |
| 4 Jul - 26 Jul | |
| 11 Sep | |
| 13 Sep | |
| 20 Sep | |
| 27 Sep |