On Sunday evening the King of the Belgians Facetimed Remco Evenepoel to congratulate him on his win in the Vuelta a Espana. If Belgium's first Grand Tour winner in 44 years was already having difficulty processing his landmark victory, this may not have helped - but this may be a taste of the new normal for the 22-year-old Quick StepAlpha Vinyl rider.
Evenepoel is being hailed across the country for what is the first Belgian three-week victory since Johan de Muynck won the Giro d'Italia in 1978. Back in his home village of Schepdaal, not far from Brussels, the bakery is full of 'Evenepoel' eclairs with red icing, and he takes pride of place on the front pages of sports and mainstream media. While there has always been a certain amount of focus on him given how talented he clearly is, Evenepoel is likely to find himself in a new level of demand across Belgium and the world.
Denne historien er fra September 15, 2022-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
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Denne historien er fra September 15, 2022-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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CLASSIC BIKE - JOHNNY BERRY
Johnny be good at making beautiful lightweight bikes
UK SCENE - WUNDERKIND HUDSON WINS YORKSHIRE CX
Newly crowned junior hill-climb champ shows his versatility by winning round seven on the mud
WATT WORKS FOR ME TADEJ POGAČAR
The man himself - subject of this special issue - explains the key performance changes behind his record-breaking year
11 WAYS TO POG-UP YOUR PLAN
Tadej Pocačar's performance is out of reach but you can adapt his training to raise your game. Chris Marshall-Bell consults the experts to find out how
Why do modern aero bikes look less aero?
Are today's aero bikes really faster, or is marketing just getting better? Joe Baker investigates...
REVIEW OF THE YEAR
An Olympic year is always special and the cycling season once again delivered a year of highs and lows, from Pogi's triple to Katie Archibald's pre-Olympic trip
MEET THE PARENTS
What made Tadej Pogačar the phenomenon he is today? Chris Marshall-Bell went to Slovenia to meet his mum and dad, Mirko and Marjeta
HALF MAN HALF GOAT
Tadej Pogačar may have had a phenomenal season, but has he done enough to cement his status as the greatest of all time? Chris Marshall-Bell weighs the arguments for and against
Lefevere cashes in his chips and leaves cycling management
The news that Patrick Lefevere will step down as Quick Step boss marks the end of an era, after 22 years in charge
Mathieu van der Poel weighs up skipping Tour de France
Dutchman hints at missing Tour in favour of mtb Worlds bid, reports Tom Thewlis from Dénia, Spain
