Remco, the Phenomenon

For those who don’t know him yet, this young Belgian, only 19 years old (since January 25), is already attracting a lot of attention. He revealed himself to the general public last September, returning from Austria with two rainbow jerseys in the Junior category. Winning the World Championships in both time trial and road race in the same year is already an exploit in itself, but it’s even more the disconcerting ease with which he achieved his successes that makes him a unique case.

Unprecedented

Opinions are unanimous when comparing him to Eddy Merckx. The greatest cyclist in history himself claims that he is probably even stronger than him. Philippe Gilbert also asserts that he has never seen anyone so talented.

So, to write this article, I enjoyed reading everything that could interest me about this extraordinary fact. I watched YouTube videos about this “gem.” I read press articles. I observed the critics. I asked people who had already seen him in action. I even visited his social media accounts. And I thus compiled some of the information that seemed most relevant to illustrate my paper.

Not so long ago, just a few months ago, Remco was still a promising football player. He started kicking the ball at 5 years old, and his talent quickly led him to be selected for the national team in youth categories, and even to be noticed by prestigious clubs like PSV and Anderlecht, who were ready to offer him a professional contract. Nothing predestined him for cycling.

Often in this sport, where culturally one comes to it because dad was a cyclist himself or because the context is favorable to its practice, few start fortuitously. However, in a country where cycling is king, Remco always preferred watching bike races on TV to football matches. Thus, during the 2016 football season break, Remco cycled a little more than in previous years, so much so that he was reluctant to put his cleats back on the following season. And finally, he never put them back on…

Disconcerting precocity

2017: change of sport! On the traditional medical certificate of no contraindication to sports practice at the beginning of the year, the family doctor, accustomed to issuing him a certificate for football, would have to revise the activity’s title. This time it would be cycling for Remco Evenepoel. It would have been bad if the doctor had refused the prescription; Remco won seven races in his first year. The following year, he won the Belgian time trial and road race championships. Also immediately selected for the national team, he won the European championships again in the time trial and also the road race. It’s prodigious! And to prove to the whole world that it wasn’t just a stroke of luck, the opportunity to wear the European champion’s jersey would be almost non-existent; he humiliated the entire peloton at the World Championships a few weeks later. Repeat performance, he won the “chrono” and the road race!

A coveted kid

During the off-season, the rumor spread. All the pro teams were interested in the Remco phenomenon. In the peloton, everyone was talking about how the young prodigy had crushed the competition at the last World Championships. The image of his arrival, bike held aloft, went viral on social media. “Apparently he just started cycling…”, “but where will he stop?“, “what’s his weakness?“, “he rides, he climbs, he sprints“… The glowing comments flowed freely. The spotlight was on the new gem of world cycling. Everyone was interested in him. Everyone wanted him on their team. Solicited by Axeon Hagens Berman. And even by Sky. It was finally in the Deceuninck-Quick Step jersey that the Belgian hopeful would make his first turns of the wheel as a professional.

Everything to learn

It didn’t take him long to continue impressing as soon as he turned pro. It’s still only January, at the Tour de San Juan in Argentina, and Remco made an immediate impact by finishing 3rd in the time trial stage…

“It’s never too early to win,
it can only be too late”

Third in the 3rd stage! A particularly difficult 12-kilometer time trial that saw the victory of Julian Alaphilippe, his Quick-Step teammate. And the day before, already 15th in a stage where the cream of world cycling was found in the standings, he sent a strong message. We know he can already play a major role with the best. Yet he admits he didn’t know how to manage his effort. He is learning to use the power meter. And in modern cycling where everything is governed by these precious indicators, one can imagine that when he learns to tame his extraordinary potential, he is likely to put the entire pro peloton in single file.

At just 18 years old and fresh out of the Junior ranks, cycling’s new marvel has already impressed some big names in the WorldTour. Even Peter Sagan came to compliment him, so impressed was he by Remco during these first days of racing as a professional. However, Remco expected it to be faster. He was surprised to find himself “so easy” with the best.

Deceuninck-Quick Step quickly understood that this covetousness could turn against its diamond. It thus meticulously established its roadmap. “Patience” was the watchword! He won’t be seen on the Tour de France this year. Initially, short stage races will be prioritized in the program. Simply not to rush the Wolfpack Puppy.

Oh yes, Deceuninck-Quick Step didn’t waste any time in finding a nickname for its young prodigy. Lefevere’s team has already christened him Wolfpack Puppy, literally translated as the “young pup of the wolf pack.” The veterans like Philippe Gilbert have already quickly taken him under their wing.

But when this carnivorous mammal truly emerges from its den, we risk discovering a ferocious animal whose appetite seems to be at least comparable to the one called the Cannibal. To be followed, therefore, with the greatest interest.

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