Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl): “Today I felt the best Remco had come back”

April 24 ^th 2022 - 18:44

I’m really happy to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège like this. It’s a race I really wanted to win once in my life. To do it on my first participation makes me feel really proud. It wasn’t the plan to take off that early, but I felt really good today. To get the opportunity to win and finish it off on a beautiful way is big and very special. It’s kind of a proof for me that I can win a big race in front of all the big guns. Today I felt the best Remco had come back, and was pedalling on my bike.

It was very special to win the race in La Redoute, as it is one of my favourite climbs in road cycling. I’ve sent a message to my first trainer, as we did many training rides here – so this victory is a bit his too! As for this race, it had been hard and nervous, ridden on a really high pace. I started to feel some pain on my legs in La Redoute. I realized everybody had to be suffering quite a bit, that it was the moment to give it a try and then look back to see what the situation was. When I found myself on my own, I decided to go on solo.

It’s been a rough Classics period for my team. We got 19 victories ahead of the Classics season, so our 2022 was going well - but then the Classics did not go that well. Yesterday, in the pre-race meeting, our team CEO Patrick Lefevere told us that whatever happened we would remain calm, that this race was not going to be the end of the world. It was a beautiful gesture from Patrick, because reassured us by showing how much he trusts our team and its work.