Despite his heavy crash in the Tour of the Basque Country, Remco Evenepoel will still be able to participate in the Tour de France. Expectations are already high for Eddy Merckx.
‘The Cannibaal’ was a guest on the podcast The Move Legends. He spoke with Johan Bruyneel about Remco Evenepoel and the fact that the world top in cycling is getting younger. Isn’t there too much pressure on young talents to perform right away?
Incompetent
“Many riders want to become professionals with ProTour teams, but are not ready for that. You can skip categories if you are an exception. Everyone is not an exception. You have to go step by step,” he said.
“Times have changed of course, but I never rode a stage race before I became a professional. Because I had someone around me who told me that I would still ride enough races when I became a professional. And that is true. You can evolve. Not everyone is capable of going from junior to professional and immediately competing in World Cup races.”
Evenepoel is one of those riders who never rode with the promises, but is now one of the absolute world top. “Evenepoel has already been world champion,” Merckx continued. “He has already won a stage race (the Vuelta, ed.). Of course, he has not yet won the Tour. He still has to prove that, we will see in the coming years. Pogacar is 25. He is not that old either, is he? “He has already won the Tour twice.”
