Remco Evenepoel has addressed the recent reports and speculation surrounding his future, saying he was “surprised” at links to Ineos Grenadiers. He committed his future to QuickStep-AlphaVinyl.
The new world champion was speaking on Monday ahead of his debut in the rainbow jersey at Tuesday’s Binche-Chimay-Binche, with transfer talk only heightening attention on the 22-year-old since his homecoming to Belgium last week.
Having won the Vuelta a España before Worlds, Evenepoel has fully established himself as one of the sport’s very biggest stars, and talk of a move to Ineos Grenadiers has dominated headlines since Velonews revealed Ineos boss Dave Brailsford had made reference to Evenepoel’s future in a message to QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere.
“To be honest, to maybe talk a bit about the story, I was out training myself, like super relaxed. I went out of my door, I went with a friend, we stopped for coffee and cake, I arrived back home and then my phone exploded,” Evenepoel explained.
“I was actually really surprised. Like I told Patrick on phone, I didn’t know anything about this.”
Evenepoel was not totally blindsided by the news. In fact, he revealed that he was aware of approaches from rival teams, and not just Ineos Grenadiers.
“I knew there was some interest from different teams – not only one team but different teams,” Evenepoel said, carefully choosing his words.
“But I didn’t want to know, because it was before the Vuelta. I didn’t want to know anything about it because I had some big goals ahead with the team and I really wanted to focus on that.
“That’s still the case,” he added.
Lefevere has already sought to quell any speculation that Evenepoel could make a shock transfer, saying the story was “too stupid for words” and posting a photo online of himself having dinner and talks with Evenepoel and his father, Patrick, who is also his agent.
Evenepoel is already signed to a long-term contract through 2026 and the rider outlined his intention to see that through when speaking on Monday.
Evenepoel’s contract is closely aligned to the five-year sponsorship deals Lefevere has in place with the likes of Soudal, QuickStep and Specialized, and the Belgian manager has indicated it would take in excess of 100 million Euros to prize Evenepoel away from the team.
Despite speculation over late payment of contract bonuses for his Vuelta title, and the fact that Evenepoel’s market value will have soared since he signed that long-term deal, Evenepoel…
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