'I told him for so many years to do it, and he didn't' – Patrick Lefevere reacts to Remco Evenepoel's Tour of Flanders debut, having failed to convince him at Soudal-QuickStep

While former team boss Patrick Lefevere said Remco Evenepoel finally making his Tour of Flanders is good for cycling, he couldn't help but note how it was something he annoyingly failed to convince the Belgian star to do before he left Soudal-QuickStep for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

The German team created mass drama on Wednesday as it was confirmed that rumours swirling on Tuesday night were no April Fools joke and that Evenepoel would indeed take the start in Antwerp on Sunday.

Drawing reactions aplenty from the whole peloton, the Red Bull team bus was one of the busiest places after Wednesday's race, even with their top finisher being Laurence Pithie in fifth, but also wandering around the VIP area was Lefevere.

Initially, he didn't want to speak about Evenepoel as he is no longer a rider for the team, which Lefevere ran for more than 20 years before stepping down as CEO and now becoming an honorary board member, but he did then play ball.

"I don't care," he told Cyclingnews after Wednesday's race. "I told him for so many years to do it, and he didn't. Now he's gone from us, and he's going to do it.

"That is, if it's true because it is still the first of April – maybe it's a fish. But, of course, it would be good for cycling; he's the best rider of Belgium, you don't have doubts about it."

Red Bull did respond to their secretary as journalists swarmed the team bus at the finish, having denied Evenepoel's participation ever since it was rumoured in December and refused to comment on the rumours on Wednesday morning.

Sports director and former Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout represented the team's views, having been part of Evenepoel's secret recon on December 27, but he remained coy when asked directly why it was kept from the public.

"I can't really say much about that. It has now indeed been communicated that he's riding the race," he said to Sporza, before putting to bed any suggestion of it still being an April Fool's joke.

"We've always said that if we could add someone like Remco, it would only be a plus. And yes, that decision has now been confirmed. So on Sunday, we'll indeed be at the start with Remco Evenepoel.

"I'm definitely not going to comment on [why it was denied]. I think the ambition, or let's say the curiosity, for Remco to be part of the Flemish spring classics has always been there. But I mainly focused on the process leading into the spring."

Gianni Vermeersch told the Belgian broadcaster after the race that Evenepoel had been the biggest driver behind the project to start at Flanders, saying, "Remco really wanted to ride, but I think the team wanted to wait a bit longer. It happened at the last minute because – as far as I know – Remco kept nagging until they let him drive."

Vanthourenhout confirmed some truth to this, stating how the team's top performance at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where they were among the very strongest outfits and finished second through Tim van Dijke, had played a key role in confirming his participation.

"As I said, I think… Remco saw what we did during the opening weekend. And let's say that definitely triggered something in him," said the DS.

"Even if it had already been on his mind earlier to start on Sunday, apparently it had been. Let's just say it certainly helped when he saw the team in action in recent weeks."

Whether or not Evenepoel can compete with the likes of defending champion Tadej Pogačar, or three-time winner Mathieu van der Poel, is a different question, but Lefevere had confidence in the rider he managed from his rapid junior breakthrough to a Grand Tour win and two Monument successes.

"He won't be inferior to Van der Poel, Pogacar, or Van Aert. Winning is, of course, not easy. Besides, if you are good, the fact that he has no experience in the Tour of Flanders yet plays no role," he told Het Laatste Nieuws.

"With Gianni Vermeersch, he has a – not meant in a bad way – rascal by his side. Someone who is always there and someone who races smartly. Evenepoel could certainly use someone like that."

Vanthourenhout was again more cautious in laying down any large expectations before he disappeared onto the team bus and away from the microphones that had surrounded him in Waregem.

"Oh, that's something I definitely won't say," he said, to the question of whether winning at the first attempt was Evenepoel's aim.

"I think we should see this as a kind of exploration. Even though we all know the ambition and eagerness of someone like Remco. But I think we have to be careful with that, and as a team we see it more as a discovery."

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