Evenepoel responds to Merckx criticism, confirms Giro d'Italia and World Championships goals

Deceuninck-QuickStep’s Remco Evenepoel celebrates winning the 2020 Volta ao Algarve
(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Remco Evenepoel has responded to criticism from Eddy Merckx and confirmed he will target the overall classification at the Giro d'Italia rather than ride Liège-Bastogne-Liège and other Classics in the new August to November race calendar.

Evenepoel had secured leadership status at Deceuninck-QuickStep for 2020, his huge potential, friendly personality and breakthrough results as a neo-pro in 2019 capturing the hearts of the Belgian cycling fans and near constant attention of the Flemish media. However, Evenepoel has yet to attain the status of Eddy Merckx, cycling's undisputed greatest of all time, who recently suggested the 20-year-old thinks he has already made it as a successful rider.

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Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.