https://www.hln.be/sport/wielrennen/tom-boonen-leidt-supertalent-remco-evenepoel-symbolisch-het-profpeloton-binnen-ge-gaat-verschieten~afd7a066
Interview with Evenepoel and Boonen in "Het Laatste Nieuws", translated by googletranslate with some edits to remove the slapstick translations. Still took me long enough, so i hope you enjoy. (PS: Made some small edits)
Tom Boonen symbolically introduces super talent Remco Evenepoel into the professional peloton: "You won't know what hit you."
He could be his son. So, four-time Crystal Bike winner Tom Boonen (38) let the super talented and 'Junior of the Year' Remco Evenepoel (18) train peacefully first. "I'm taking care of you, aren't i, shorty." And so the short one invited the tall one for a coffee at Le Pain Quotidien in Wemmel. For a double interview, in which the name Mer ... - oops - wasn't mentioned once.
Have you met each other before?
Boonen: «Twice. Once sober and once drunk. »(Laughs)
Evenepoel: "Speak for yourself. Almost lights out. "
Boonen: «As was the case for 95% of those present, on the "silver sponsor jubilee" of Latexco. "Parteeey!" Our first conversation dates back to the end of June, during a cycling trip in the context of the International Cycling Trophy in Oetingen, organized by a mate of mine, a Volvo concessionaire. "
Evenepoel: «It immediately clicked. As if we had known each other for ten years. I went to the juniors with Tom's nephew, Davide Bomboi. That was ideal to break the ice. "
You were five, Remco, when Tom won his first of three "Ronde van Vlaanderen" in 2005 and became world champion in Madrid. Did that preoccupy a starting football player at RSC Anderlecht?
Evenepoel: «Certainly. I was playing purely for pleasure, at that stage there was no intentional career planning. Dad gave me the cycling bug, being a former cyclist. I enjoyed following cycling. Saturday football, and sunday watching a race on TV. That's what an average weekend looked like. In the newspaper I always looked at the cycling results first, before i'd check football results. I knew perfectly well who Tom was. "
Boonen: (surprised) «At that age sports were totally not on my mind. It wasn't a hot topic at home either. Sven (his brother, ed.) And I were always outside romping. Building camps, burning things and stuff like that. When I was 11, when I won the School Championship, it occurred to me for the first time that I might be able to become a cyclist. It was only during the juniors that I really started to love it. "
After that world title, suddenly the whole country loved you. Belgium was going crazy.
Boonen: «The term 'hype' was invented back then. It was a different era, but you felt that they were gradually changing. Loud Internet forums, rise of social media. Especially from that angle the pressure increased. I was also one of the first riders to be asked anywhere outside the race. Did you know that I even had a poster in the "Joepie" (immensely popular Belgian music magazine from the period 1973-2015, ed.)? »
Evenepoel: (full of disbelief) «No ... Really? Goh. "
Boonen: "That's when you know you made it in life, no? (laughs) It was indeed crazy. "
I have a feeling that the hype surrounding you has already started, Remco. Everywhere in the country, fan clubs are popping up.
Evenepoel: «Myeah ...»
Boonen: (cuts in immediately) «True. Do you know how i can tell? People who know nothing about the sport start to mention you. "Tell me, that Remco Evenepoel, he's something else, right?" That's how it starts. "
Evenepoel: «For the time being without extremes, though. They do not set up camp in our garden, do not call for a photo or signature. And I still can, like any normal person, go to the butcher around the corner. I notice that people do recognize me more quickly. Recently I went shopping with Oumi (Oumaïma Rayane, his girlfriend, ed.) on the Antwerp Meir. 'Hey', someone suddenly shouted. We turned around. "Aren't you the world champion?" Euh ... yes. (grins) It comes with the territory, surely? I try to not let it go to my head. We are now more than two months after the World Championships in Innsbruck. It's time for things to go back to normal. There are other, more important things. "
"Let him breathe," you advise, Tom. But does he get enough space?
Boonen: "Everyone wants something from you. Be very selective. Then it will be fine."
Evenepoel: «I have already discussed it extensively with Patrick (Lefevere, ed.). They learned a lot from your period, Tom, at Deceuninck-Quick.Step. Back then, 'yes' was being said too easily. »
Boonen: «Especially the first years. Which was normal. Suddenly you explode, nobody had experience with it. You will now end up in a team that has already endured such storms. "
Evenepoel: (nods) «They know how to deal with such a situation.»
Stay away from that media training, Remco. And be your fresh, spontaneous self. As Tom has been.
Boonen: (played outraged) «What? Not anymore you mean? »
Sure. But you have to admit: you have gradually become more cautious.
Boonen: «Because some people took advantage of it. After the Museeuw / Van Petegem era, in which every word was carefully considered and weighed, someone finally dared to say something that differed from the usual discourse. It worked refreshingly. But at the same time, it was dangerous. You will learn, Remco: don't be too candid, without losing spontaneity. »
The fact is: he's quickly winning hearts.
Boonen: "It's a pleasure to watch him."
Evenepoel: «What I do, I do with full enthusiasm and pleasure. Otherwise it can never be good. That's how i see it. "
Do you recognize yourself in this boy, Tom? The way he tackles life? That hyperactivity ...?
Boonen: "Is that so?"
Evenepoel: «I can not sit still.»
Boonen: "Oops, neither can I." (laughs)
Evenepoel: "In the evening I really have to stop doing 'something' and go to sleep. If i don't... I'll just keep busy. Then I am already looking forward to the next morning and the moment I can get up, have breakfast and cycle. "
Boonen: "Good that you can channel that turmoil onto your bike."
Evenepoel: «Everything must also be punctual. Oh dear, if something unexpected pops up, my schedule is turned upside down and I can not do what I had in mind. Then I am lost. Something i need to work on. »
Boonen: "Yes, because you also have to learn how to deal with that."
Evenepoel: "The World Cup was, for that matter, a great test. Plan A did not succeed because of that fall. Just when we wanted to start with the team. "Okay, can happen. Then plan B or C. '»
Ha, there was also a plan C?
Evenepoel: (laughs) «The sprint, heh.»
Boonen: «His plan was merely to blast everyone out of his wheel.»
273,897 people watched that World championship. Market share: 49.9%. Gigantic for a junior race on a weekday Thursday.
Evenepoel: «The arrival was around 18 o'clock, when people are home from work. And I had already helped advertising with the time trial. "
Boonen: "I did not start watching the race until the last hour myself. When you had already deployed your comeback. Pure madness! Just when I thought: 'Ai, he is still having trouble with that German in his wheel', you accelerated. Game over. Rarely seen. "
Evenepoel: «There was a short even steeper part in that climb, where I kept the same cadence and suddenly went from 420 to 650 watts. That short burst of no more than ten seconds finished Mayrhofer off. "
That is what he is up to, Tom.
Boonen: «All of them, nowadays. There are no more youth categories. They're all pros now. "
Evenepoel: «Cycling in 2018 is all about wattages. Coaches draw up training schedules based on them and use them as a value indicator. »
Boonen: "In 1999 I trained as one of the first Belgian riders with an SRM meter. But there have also been years when I just did without it. »
Evenepoel: "For long endurance rides I leave it aside. I train especially on high cadence. That is my trademark. "
You have seen quite a lot of quality yourself, Tom. How do you rate this?
Boonen: «In my junior years, you had two German super talents: Eric Baumann and Torsten Hiekmann. Hors catégorie. Hiekmann, world champion time trial in 1997, was the best of the two. Baumann was more the classic type. They turned pros for a while, including at T-Mobile. But in the end they both faded away. You do not have conclusive guarantees for a top career as a junior. There are so many factors that can influence that: your own growth and development, but also your family situation, teams that go bankrupt, physical misery ... Not to mention the mental aspect. I just saw many of those guys give give up mentally. Too weak, too frail. Class in abundance, but no drive or resilience. With aging, I get a better understanding of what makes people tick. I can pick them out easily, those of which you can predict: this won't amount to anything! »
Do a prediction for Remco.
Boonen: «If he can extend his evolution ...»
Evenepoel: "My test values are what they are. They do not lie. But as Tom says: it can be completely different for the pros. I realize that I will soon face men with so much more strength and experience. Who are three, four levels above me. A level that I want to achieve on a certain beautiful day. I'm going to work hard for this, together with the people of the team. I focus on the margin of growth that I still believe to have. And don't want to compare with examples from the past. "
Boonen: "It shouldn't be your concern. With that attitude you'll come a long way. I myself was not the most talented of my class. And certainly not of your caliber, Remco. I was very slender, and only really grew at the U23. I won seventeen races as a junior, but also got spanked 36 times by Gert Steegmans. »
Another rider about who you might say: 'darn, there was more potential present.'
Boonen: "Physically at least my equal. With a sprint that might even be better than mine. But ... mentally as delicate as a flower. "
Will you have to learn to lose again, Remco?
Evenepoel: «I can handle it well. Legacy of my previous life. »(Grins)
Boonen: «Huh? Football is still a team sport, no? »
Evenepoel: "Yes, but as captain of that team and extension of the coach along the sidelines, I still held a certain responsibility. And so I could feel bad after a lost top match against Club Brugge or Standard that we had to win to win the championship. I will take those experiences and strengthen myself when processing new setbacks. "
Boonen: «Pff. I also couldn't stand losing as a young rider. It even made me physically sick. Especially when I lost due to someone else's fault. I would have chopped off their head. "
Evenepoel: (smile) «I know the feeling. It gnaws inside, heh. "
Boonen: "Later, as a professional, I could put it behind me a lot easier. But there have been moments when I could have trashed the place. The Omloop of 2015, for example. When Ian Stannard had us three, Terpstra, Vandenbergh and I, looking like fools in a leading group of four. I had predicted it and that's what happened. Dude ... I could 've smacked Niki. (laughs) But ...! That 's fifteen minutes of namecalling and yelling at each other and then you say: 'Okay, tomorrow we will get back at it again in Kuurne.' Niki himself is also of the same principle. You can recognize the great ones by it. The fire will sometimes blaze. "
Evenepoel: «Totally agree.»
Remco dreams of riding the three grand tours...
Boonen: "I did that too."
... by which we mean: a classic type like you, Tom, can only give him so much advice.
Boonen: "On the contrary. My first GT, the Vuelta 2003, was also the fastest ever. In full epo-era, with Spain being the odd one out. There you raced against thirty mopeds every day. Not normal. 22, I was. I thought I would die. Gradually I have seen it change, evolve. But the period in which US Postal and T-Mobile battled against each other in the Tour remained uncomfortable. Even though I did not chase a classification myself. The morning of my stage victory on the Champs-Élysées, in 2004, I stood up in the morning with a hematocrit of ... 35.6. I almost could not start. I was so broken. But I won. So it is possible. "
Evenepoel: «Now young guys can also rival uphill. Enric Mas is a good example of this. You did not see that ten years ago. "
Boonen: «No way. Whether you weighed 40, 60 or 80 kilos, you hit a natural limit that ... thirty others were pushing. You could have trained as much as you wanted or taken care of yourself: forget it. Glad I never had to make that choice. And that I could do my own thing in the classics. "
We have been waiting for a new (Belgian) grand tour winner for 40 years. It's a daunting task.
Boonen: «He's got the potential. The will too. A lot is possible then. Only ... So far you were the norm, Remco. You determined the how far you would take it yourself. Now you have to push those boundaries against men who are ten or twenty percent better. They will force you out of your comfort zone. Only then will you know where you stand. And what you can really achieve. "
Evenepoel: «I 'm capable of riding a strong time trial, I can climb well and recuperate quickly. The three conditions to be able to grow into a grand tour contender. 'If you really want to go for it, do it right now, with full surrender', Lucien Van Impe recently said on the phone. »
Boonen: «You are in for a rude awakening, you know. But Lucien is right: focus fully on what you excel at. Real top riders can win the Tour at 22, 23 years. It often comes very quickly. And then it might fade away again. So try to score as quickly as possible. You never know what will happen afterwards. "
"We have to take care of this boy," says Walter Planckaert. He is right.
Boonen: "I would say: just leave him alone."
Evenepoel: "It is mainly me who has to do it. Together with Patrick (Lefevere, ed.) And the entire team. Us. I couldn't be better surrounded than at Deceuninck-Quick.Step. A team with a winner's mentality. I perfectly fit that profile. "
Boonen: «With his program (maximum 55 race days, mainly smaller stage races, ed.), there is nothing wrong. Ease into it in Argentina, far away from everything and everyone. "
Evenepoel: «I look forward to it tremendously. To start a new chapter, to discover a new world. And only to focus on my bike. Doing what you have to do. And if you like doing that: that's the best thing there is, right? "
Boonen: "Being a pro cyclists: ooh man, really blissful. Able to sit in the couch in the after noon without having to feel ashamed. "Yes, that is the job for me." Now that's no longer allowed. (laughs) "What are you doing here? Slacker! "
Can we conclude with an ode to the 'silent but hard-working force' in this whole story? Because that's what junior coach Carlo Bomans deserves.
Evenepoel: "Absolutely. Carlo is the man who led me to success. With all his advice and useful tips. Behind the scenes, never in public. "
Boonen: "That's Carlo. Not after attention. "
Evenepoel: "At the World Championships, he held a personal conversation with each of us, every day. 'How do you feel? Everything okay? "He has made us a close team. It's not easy, with young guys who occasionally can be stubborn and opinionated. For me Carlo is the 'manager of the Year'. "
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