No Remco Evenepoel in the Tour of Flanders 2026. No surprise, as the double Olympic champion has never ridden this Belgian Monument before. But last autumn, it increasingly seemed that Evenepoel would indeed ride the Flemish Classic for the first time. Not so. The reason is simple: he does not want to take any risks, he tells, among others, WielerFlits.
‘No’ was the simple yet powerful answer to the question of whether Evenepoel will race the Tour of Flanders 2026. “We want to have a normal season. Last year was very difficult for me because of that collision with the mail van in December 2024. That’s why we are aiming for a good season next year, one that is easy going. Without too many crazy things. Hopefully, I will then have a season without interruptions. What the future holds is for later. This season will be busy enough already, and that’s why we decided not to do Flanders.”
He gave similar statements to our camera. Moreover, the Tour of Flanders follows soon after the Tour of Catalonia, which for the Belgian is an important benchmark ahead of the Tour de France. Still, there has been much talk and discussion about a participation in the Tour of Flanders. “The most important thing for Remco is that he stays on his bike,” says team director Klaas Lodewyck. “I believe that without the accident in 2025, we would have seen a completely different level from Remco. With the quality he put into the latter part of the season, a good rest period, and the fact that he makes sure to stay healthy these weeks, I believe we can gradually raise his level week by week.”
“Of course, as a Belgian, he always has the desire to take part in the Tour of Flanders,” says the new sporting director Zakari Dempster. “Whether you are a cobblestone specialist or not, it is a special race. But the main reason Evenepoel joined this team is because he wants to compete with Tadej Pogačar in the Tour de France and because he wants to try to beat him. Now it’s up to us to create the best plan that we all believe he can achieve. At this moment, we do not believe that participating in the Tour of Flanders contributes to that. Remco is here to grow into a better rider, to perform, and to win big races. Let's first focus on the races we can actually win.”
