“What he accomplished was truly historic… Even Tadej Pogacar will have problems defeating him. Eddy Merckx is ‘in awe’ of Remco Evenepoel’s Olympic heroics.
Eddy Merckx, a former Belgian professional cyclist and one of the greatest riders of all time, has praised his compatriot Remco Evenepoel for his performance at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Evenepoel, who is just 21 years old, finished ninth in the men’s road race and then competed in the time trial event, where he finished second, winning a silver medal.
Merckx, who won the Tour de France five times and the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España twice each, said he was “in awe” of Evenepoel’s achievements. He described the young rider as “simply historic” and said that he had the potential to become one of the greatest cyclists of his generation.
“What he did was simply historic. To compete in the road race and then come back and win a silver medal in the time trial is incredible,” Merckx said in an interview with Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. “Even Tadej Pogacar will have difficulty beating him in the future.”
Merckx went on to say that Evenepoel’s performance at the Olympics showed that he had the ability to compete at the highest level of the sport. “This is just the beginning for Evenepoel. He has the talent, the mentality, and the work ethic to become one of the greats,” he said.
Evenepoel, who rides for the Deceuninck-QuickStep team, has been touted as one of cycling’s rising stars since he burst onto the scene in 2019. He won his first professional race in February of that year and went on to win the Clásica de San Sebastián, a prestigious one-day race in Spain, just a few months later. He was also the winner of the 2020 Tour de Pologne, a week-long stage race in Poland that is part of the UCI WorldTour.
However, Evenepoel’s progress was hampered by a serious crash at the Il Lombardia race in August 2020, which left him with a fractured pelvis and a bruised lung. He spent several months recovering from his injuries before returning to competition in the spring of 2021.
Despite the setback, Evenepoel has continued to impress, winning the Belgium Tour in June and then finishing second in the time trial event at the Olympic Games. He is now expected to compete in the Vuelta a España, one of cycling’s three Grand Tours, in August and September.
Merckx’s words of praise for Evenepoel are significant, as the former champion has often been critical of young riders who he feels are not living up to their potential. However, Evenepoel’s performances have clearly caught his attention, and it seems likely that the young rider will become a major force in the sport in the coming years.
