Evenepoel Wins Lombardia | Cycling News 2023

Remco Evenepoel is hoping to deliver Soudal Quick-Step a perfect leaving present on Saturday.

Beating Tadej Pogacar at Lombardy.

“Of course it’s possible to beat Pogačar,” Evenepoel said from a pre-race conference Friday in Lombardy. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

Saturday’s “Race of the Falling Leaves” is the final round of what’s been the best box set of the summer.

Pogačar and Evenepoel headlined the recent world and European championship road races, and exceeded the hype by going 1-2 each time.

Evenepoel isn’t backing down ahead of Round 3.

Second behind Pogačar at both the worlds and Euros is proof he’s best of the rest – and then some.

“I feel like I’ve been riding at a high level these past few weeks,” Evenepoel said, as reported by The Latest News. “Compared to Tadej? That’s difficult to say. He certainly looked very good when he won both championship races.

“But I’m very happy with my own level, Evenepoel said. “Tomorrow I’ll do my best to get as close to victory as possible.”

If it’s Near-Impossible to Beat Pogacar at any race, it’s Il Lombardia.

The Slovenian has pillaged four wins in four starts and will surpass Fausto Coppi’s record Saturday if he goes 5 in a row. He’d also level the Italian legend on total victories with another “W.”

Coppi isn’t the only name on everyone’s lips when they speak of Pogačar.

“Is Pogačar riding like Merckx? Merckx used to win his time trials too,” joked Evenepoel, who is simultaneously Olympic, world, and national time trial champion.

“That’s not a criticism of Tadej, to be clear,” Evenepoel continued. “He’s a special rider, and the boxes he’s ticking are impressive. He’s the best rider of the last decades and the only one who comes close to what Merckx ever did.”

Evenepoel ends his Quick-Step era: ‘I want to give the team one last gift’

Beat Pogačar or not, Saturday marks a turning point for Evenepoel.

He’ll wear a Quick-Step jersey for the last time at the season-ending monument.

Evenepoel’s peloton-shifting transfer to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in 2026 will leave a chasm in the team.

Evenepoel has been the beating heart of “The Wolf Pack” since Patrick Lefevere plucked him from the juniors in 2019 and converted him from a soccer prodigy to cycling powerhouse.

The Italian classic also charts Evenepoel’s rollercoaster rise to world fame.

He was sidelined for months after he fractured his pelvis in a horrific descending crash in his 2020 debut.

Five years and four appearances later in Lombardia 2024, Evenepoel scored a career-best second-place behind a trademark long-range raid from … Pogačar.

“I don’t really think about the crash anymore,” Evenepoel told the media on Friday. “It doesn’t bother me much anymore – it’s already five years ago. For me, Saturday is mainly my last race for the team, and that motivates me to give it my all again.

“I want to give the team one last gift. It would be fantastic to end my time here like this.”