Remco Evenepoel was named as the Belgian Sportsman of the Year for a fifth consecutive time on Sunday, with Eddy Merckx's record of six titles acting as inspiration for Evenepoel's 2026 season.
25-year-old Evenepoel has been a professional rider for seven years and only missed out on the Sportsman of the Year award when crashes or injury disrupted his success.
"In my opinion, this is the greatest award you can win as a Belgian athlete. I'm truly honoured to receive it again," Evenepoel said after flying to Belgium for the day from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's training camp in Mallorca.
The event organisers arranged a private plane for Evenepoel; he trained in the morning and was back in Spain late on Sunday evening.
"In the seven years I was a professional cyclist, I won five times. And the two years I didn't win, I was injured," Evenepoel said.
He's now closing in on Merckx, who won the Sportsman of the Year award six consecutive times between 1969 and 1974, the peak years of his career.
"I'm not far from that anymore, and I still have a few years ahead of me. It's a nice goal to reach and surpass.
"It would be wonderful and an honour to equal such a big name. I want to try to be the best athlete Belgium has ever known," Evenepoel said, with natural ambition but without diminishing Merckx's success.
At the weekend, Forbes in Belgium also named Evenepoel as part of their '30 Under 30' list, and Evenepoel appeared on the cover of the magazine with a joint interview with his wife Oumi.
He won the Belgian, European and world time trial titles in 2025, but it was a season of mixed emotions after a winter crash massively disrupted his training and delayed his season debut. He won the Caen time trial stage at the Tour de France but then abandoned the race due to fatigue.
"It was a year of ups and downs," Evenepoel explained to the Flemish media at the Belgian Sportsman of the Year event.
"A good start, a difficult middle section, and a strong finish. I'm very happy with how I finished the season. That gives me a lot of motivation and morale to get through the winter strong."
The Red Bull training camp marked the official start of Evenepoel's time at the German super team after he ended his contract with Soudal-QuickStep a year early. He cannot yet wear the standout Red Bull jersey due to contractual reasons, but is focused and motivated by a new chapter in his career.
"It's fun," he said about his new team. "I'm very happy with the change; it's been quite a long process to get it done, but I'm very happy. I think it's a team that suits me very well and my character and my ambitions."
Evenepoel and Red Bull were tempted to ride the Tour of Flanders and the Giro d'Italia in 2026 but ultimately opted for a more traditional and conservative season, with the Tour de France and UCI Road World Championships in Canada the major goals. He'll share team leadership at the Tour with Florian Lipowitz.
He will make his Red Bull racing debut in the Mallorca Challenge TTT race, before heading to the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana stage race.
"I just want a good season, which is easy-going with not so many crazy things, and I hope to end the season with no interruptions. The future plan will be the future plan," Evenepoel explained.
