Remco Evenepoel‘s schedule will be decided in the next few days with the route reveal of the Giro d’Italia. Along the decision to race (or not race) the Corsa Rosa will come the decision to focus on the spring classics, and make his debut in races such as Milano-Sanremo and Tour of Flanders where he could perform. But Johan Bruyneel believes this would be a big mistake and a huge risk for little reward.”You can do the Tour of Flanders and the Giro,” Bruyneel argued in The Move podcast. However he favours the traditional run-up through the Ardennes ahead of the Giro if he is to make that decision. “It’s difficult for me to see Remco take a pass on Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège which are closer to the Giro. I read that too Spencer (that Evenepoel could potentially race the Tour of Flanders, ed.), I’m absolutely not a fan of this idea”.

Bruyneel doesn’t believe there is the potential for a victory, hence any risk is likely not worth it. “Tour of Flanders… Remco is not Pogacar. Tour of Flanders is such a special race, I don’t see it as a benefit, there’s a lot of risks involved, already by definition Remco is not the best in positioning, and if there is one race where positioning is key – even if you live in the area – if you’ve never raced it, forget about”. Bruyneel talks of experience too, having lived in the area the race takes place in.

“I lived in the bottom of the Bosberg, I’ve done the Tour of Flanders once my first year of professional and said ‘ok I’m not coming back to this crazy race again and I never did it again’. I don’t know what the benefit would be for Remco, of course the fans would love it in Belgium but I don’t see him in position to be a factor in the race. And if that’s not the case why would you do it, it’s just unnecessary risks”.

The hardest race technically? 

Evenepoel can however certainly perform in Flanders, as he thrives in the short climbs, and the climb in the last few years has become less and less tactical with the emergence of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar, who are often head and shoulders above the competition and can comfortably make the difference uphill.

Spencer Martin pushes forward the technical aspect of the race, perhaps even putting it above Paris-Roubaix in terms of positioning. “As a fan I kind of like it. You bring a good point, it does take a lot of skill, it’s probably the toughest race from a skill perspective because you need to know where you’re going the whole time,” he argues.

“But could he go away early, and he is so aero he stays away and wins? The last two climbs are so slow that he would have to have – it’s hard to imagine him staying in front of those guys”. The climbs to benefit Evenepoel, and if the race opens up early enough, then certainly he could well fight for the win.

“It’s a rumour it’s not confirmed, if I was DS or GM I would strongly advice against it because it’s not worth the risk,” Bruyneel stresses. “Let’s not forget Remco is constantly coming back from bad luck. First of all his crash in Lombardia (2020, ed.) it was a big big crash when he fell out of that bridge. Then his crash at the Basque Country broken collarbone, ribs, whatever…”

“Really really difficult to come back from and last winter again an accident with a car. He doesn’t need another one of those and putting him in the environment of the Tour of Flanders… They will call me too old-fashioned, too conservative, but if I am the one who has to give him advice – and maybe he wouldn’t listen, probably he wouldn’t listen – but if this is confirmed I think it is a bad idea,” he concluded.