Alex MacQuoid
Evenepoel Adapts Mid-Race as Bahrain Victorious Team Car Sidelines Key Teammate
Remco Evenepoel delivered a strong debut at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, finishing third over 278 kilometres despite tactical complications that forced his Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe squad to abandon their original strategy after just 80 kilometres.
The disruption stemmed from Jarrad Drizners, an Australian rider who transferred from Lotto over the winter and holds a specialized role positioning teammates through critical sections. Drizners abandoned the race with what appeared to be a broken collarbone after contact with a Bahrain Victorious team car. His premature exit forced the Belgian squad to recalibrate their approach toward the first passage of the Kwaremont.
“We lost Jarrad after he was touched by the Bahrain car,” sports director Klaas Lodewyck explained. “From that moment we had to adjust towards the first passage of the Kwaremont. We did not want to sacrifice two or three riders just for positioning there.”
Mick van Dijke assumed heightened responsibility immediately. “From that point on it was already up to me. We had to keep Remco in position and I think we managed that. But it definitely cost a lot of energy.”
Tactical Execution Without Drizners
Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe identified three critical climbing sections—the Eikenberg, Molenberg, and Berg ten Houte—where positioning in the top ten proved essential. They achieved this target consistently, with particular success at the Molenberg where the team crested with three riders in the top five.
Gianni Vermeersch and the Van Dijke brothers made the decisive fifteen-rider group after the Molenberg selection. Rather than attacking, they maintained tactical discipline. “From a tactical point of view, it was not ideal to attack, because then everything would stall and the peloton could come back,” Vermeersch said.
Lodewyck corroborated this approach: “With all due respect to a Van Dijke or a Gianni, it was wiser for them to stay on board there and give Remco the feeling that he was not on his own.”
The Final Climb Gap
On the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar distanced Evenepoel, who repeatedly came close but lacked the margin to rejoin them. “It was impressive. That accumulation of short climbs one after another was really hard, and I especially noticed on the Paterberg that I was still lacking just a little bit,” Evenepoel reflected.
The Belgian identified the decisive moment: “When Mathieu came to the front, I felt like I could come back. But as soon as Tadej took over again, that changed immediately. If I had been able to get back on, the whole finale would have changed for me.”
Third Place, First Lesson
“I am happy. This is the result we had hoped for, so we can be satisfied.”
Evenepoel emphasized the physical demands of successive climbs over pure power, suggesting endurance gaps rather than tactical failures. The team demonstrated cohesion despite losing a critical supporting piece early.
“The team was very strong,” Lodewyck concluded. “Third was the highest possible result after an honest race. For a first Tour of Flanders, this was very good, because experience really helps you here.”
A start at Paris-Roubaix remains possible. “The chance is not very big, though,” Evenepoel said, closing speculation about cycling’s back-to-back classic double.