Evenepoel Ends Seven-Year Chapter with Defiant Il Lombardia Performance
Table of Contents
A resilient Remco Evenepoel concluded his seven-year tenure with Soudal Fast-Step with a strong second-place finish at Il Lombardia on Saturday, October 11, 2025, signaling a return to form after a challenging season.Despite falling short of victory against a dominant Tadej Pogačar, the Belgian rider expressed relief and optimism as he prepares for a new chapter with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
A Season Marked by Setbacks
The 2025 season proved frustrating for Evenepoel, with a meaningful crash during the winter months disrupting his training regimen and impacting his performance throughout the year. This compromised foundation contributed to his abandonment at the Tour de France, a major disappointment for both the rider and his team.
Lombardia: A Step in the Right Direction
Finishing second at Il Lombardia, a prestigious “monument” race, marked a significant step forward. Evenepoel demonstrated his resilience and determination, battling through the challenging course and the relentless pace set by Pogačar. The race provided a much-needed boost in confidence as he prepares to join his new team.
Motorbike Mishap on the Climb
evenepoel faced an unexpected challenge during the final climb. “Two motorbikes almost crashed in front of me on the last climb,” he explained to cyclingpro.net. “That was pretty hectic, especially as I was going quite fast and then needing to stop on a 15 percent gradient is not that easy.” Despite the disruption, he managed to maintain a sufficient gap to avoid losing further ground.
A Familiar Pattern of Pursuit
The dynamic between Pogačar and Evenepoel mirrored previous encounters at the World Championships and European Championships, with Evenepoel consistently finding himself in pursuit after pogačar’s aggressive moves. On Saturday, he initially chased alongside Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), eventually dropping them on the descent and pushing hard towards the finish line.
Gratitude for Soudal Quick-Step
As he prepares to transition to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Evenepoel expressed deep gratitude for the support he received from Soudal Quick-Step over the past seven years. He praised his teammates for their dedication and tactical execution during Il Lombardia. “We had one guy in the breakaway, which was the goal. then Matthia [Cattaneo], [Peter] Sierry, all the others really guided me through the day. So I didn’t have to worry about positioning and all that stuff,” he noted. “Always at the beginning of the descents we were in really good positions, everything went well.So I think overall we didn’t do anything wrong.”
The Gap to Pogačar and Future Plans
Evenepoel acknowledged the difficulty in matching Pogačar’s pace, admitting that “the moment when Tadej attacked the pace was already so high for a certain minute that it was impractical to react.” He remains determined to close the gap, but deferred questions about how to achieve this to his new trainer. Collaboration with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will soon begin, with a focus on identifying areas for improvement. He finds some solace in the fact that his deficit to Pogačar was smaller this year – 1:48 – compared to last year’s 3:16.
A New Beginning
Saturday’s race marked the end of an era for Evenepoel and Soudal Quick-Step. He expressed pride in his accomplishments with the team and a sense of excitement for the future. “I am just vrey happy and proud to have been the leader in this team, to have taken a lot of victories for this team,” he stated. “Like I said this morning, I was going to give myself one more time at the maximum and I think I did it again today. I am the type of guy who will always keep fighting until the end.” He views this move as a crucial step towards his ultimate goal: victory at the Tour de France. “I am just happy with how everything went.The last seven years is something I will take with me for the rest of my life, but I think now it is time for something new to start.”
