As far back as early 2024, former QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere had already raised the possibility of Remco Evenepoel riding the Tour of Flanders “one day”. With a new team beckoning for Evenepoel next year, there is a fresh wave of speculation that April 2026 could finally be the year when Belgium’s biggest cycling star makes his debut in Belgium’s biggest bike race.
The Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws claimed on Wednesday that “the flirt with the Tour of Flanders is gaining more and more ground in Evenepoel’s mind,” while a first-time participation in Milan-San Remo is also on the cards for 2026.
Evenepoel has had repeated success in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, winning in 2022 and 2023, and has also taken part in the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne. However, the only year in which he took part in the cobbled Classics was at the Nokere Koerse and Bredene Koksijde Classic in March 2019 as a first-year pro. He finished both races, but did not secure a standout result in either.
Since then, the closest Evenepoel has come to the cobbled Classics has been repeated participations (and one win, in 2025) in De Brabantse Pijl. The 1.Pro-ranked one-day race normally takes place the week after Paris-Roubaix, and its mixture of urban pavé and punchy hills makes it a kind of transition event between the flatter early Spring Classics and the closing chapter on the climbs of the Ardennes that follow.