Remco Evenepoel: “Extra motivation for my last race with the Wolfpack”

The Olympic Champion talked about his feelings and hopes ahead of the season’s final Monument – “The Race of the Falling Leaves”.

“Il Lombardia is going to be my last race for the team, so there’s extra motivation to do very well, to give myself one more time at the maximum, as always. It’s not that I have a sad feeling now. I just need to focus on the race and try to give a last, a nice last present to the team. That would be a really good way to finish my period in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey.

It’s been a wonderful time with the team, with many beautiful memories – such as my La Vuelta overall win, my first Liège–Bastogne–Liège, or being on the podium of the Tour de France. There were some bad moments as well, but I think the beautiful memories are way above the bad memories. I can’t say how thankful I am for the opportunities I’ve been given and for all the years I’ve been in the team and for everything that we’ve been through.

Lombardia is one of the races I dream of winning. Can I beat Tadej? Why not? Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. A victory would be amazing. As always, I’m going to do my best and hope for the best. We all know the Lombardia parcours. It’s a very hard race, but there’s also quite a long, flat part in the final. There are a lot of things that can be played for.

It’s going to be important to not lose too much energy in the beginning of the race and make sure I can start the penultimate climb, the Passo di Ganda, in a good position. Then it’s going to be 20 minutes over the limit to follow. After that, we will see how it goes, but I think it’s a final where you should never give up. There are still a lot of things possible in the last 20 kilometers, so I am confident in my chances of getting a good result. It would be the perfect way of ending my time as a Soudal Quick-Step rider.”

Photo credit: ©Wout Beel