‘It’s up to us!’ – Remco Evenepoel says other riders must rise to Tadej Pogacar standards after Slovenian’s fast start

Remco Evenepoel has said that it is up to he and the rest of the peloton to match the level being set by Tadej Pogacar.

Two-time Tour de France winner Pogacar has opened his 2023 season in blistering form, racking up three wins en route to triumphing at the Vuelta Andalucia.

And speaking to media at the UAE Tour, which Pogacar is missing, Evenepoel admitted that it is motivating but he isn’t thinking about it too much.

“It’s a very nice way to open your season,” Evenepoel said when asked about Pogacar’s hot form.

“Of course you still have to win the races, and even without all his victories, I came here to the UAE with some goals, new objectives. Maybe to go for a stage win and maybe end up on the podium of the GC, which is I think a very fair goal for me this week.

“It’s always a good stimulus to see another top rider win so easily. You feel, ‘okay, it’s now up to us to try and come to his level’. It’s not that it’s in my head all day, but it will help to give some motivation for this week’s training and racing.”

Evenepoel posted a joking message on a celebratory picture from Pogacar, saying “Stop winning. Thank you.” With the Slovenian replying “It’s your turn now.”

Pogacar is well known as a former ski jumper, similar to compatriot Primoz Roglic, but not as many fans are aware that Evenepoel was a very promising footballer.

However, when asked about it he said that he was happy with the choice he made, saying he didn’t like how much money was in football.

“Maybe I started too early, and that’s the biggest reason why I changed. I did like football but it was all about money and agents. I started to get a bit angry and the way that little world decided a lot in the sport.

“I think more and more people are watching the sport [cycling] because of the way races are ridden nowadays. Whereas before you’d only wait to watch the last hour because that was when everything happened, now you never know, things can happen at 100 kilometres from the start,

“At the same time, jerseys and bikes are looking good, and it’s all coming closer to football, it’s getting more chic and expensive. That’s why it gets more attention. Football’s the top sport, but cycling’s getting closer.”

Evenepoel was also asked about how he feels about cycling as he becomes more of a seasoned professional and he explained that he actually felt better about cycling now because “in my early years I saw it too much as a job.”

“I felt obliged to do training, obliged to train like the other guys, but now my racing runs under its own steam. I did 12 days training in Spain recently. The first five days were in the rain and in my first years I’d have refused to do that. But now I did four and half, five, then six hours training in the rain and at a maximum of eight degrees so it was pretty cold. That’s because I see cycling as very different to the beginning of my career.”

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