During the press conference at the Hotel Monte Marcella in Ledegem, Remco Evenepoel finally spoke about his Tour of Flanders debut. A debut that had been planned for months, but which he and his team did everything to keep secret. "I've wanted to race the Ronde for a long time. In my previous team (Soudal Quick-Step, ed.), I asked for at least three years in a row to be allowed to participate, but I was always prevented from doing so – the Belgian explained - When I arrived at this team, I immediately said during the various meetings that I wanted to race either the Giro d'Italia or the Tour of Flanders".

The Giro d'Italia ultimately proved not to be an option, and so, in mid-December during the team's training camp in Majorca, the Tour of Flanders was added to Evenepoel's schedule. "The agreement was to wait and see how the season would go. How I would feel after Catalonia, for example. But in reality, I had already made up my mind that nothing would change it. I think I would have raced even in terrible conditions, even if the team probably would have been a bit more hesitant".

The idea of keeping the secret for so long and announcing participation with some surprise videos was an idea from the marketing department of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. "If I had left the door open, you media would have interpreted it anyway as: 'yes, I'll participate'. So it would have been difficult to handle it differently. I would have preferred to announce it on Sunday at Catalonia, but the agreement was to wait until Wednesday. The fact that we did it on April 1st was just a coincidence, and as I said it was a decision by the marketing department. I think it worked well".

Evenepoel is making his first appearance in Belgium's most important race and naturally aims to win the Tour of Flanders. "It's true that for me it's new to race on these roads. But during the Covid period, I came here twice a week to train. So, in terms of course knowledge, I'm not inferior to others. And if I didn't think I could win, I wouldn't be sitting here now. Is it realistic to think I can win against Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert? You have to believe in it. In terms of ability, I think I can get close to them, but my inexperience still puts me a step behind. Fortunately, we have a strong team and that means we also have other cards to play".

Evenepoel appeared in excellent form and his mood was really high, and regarding the abrasions and bruises suffered at Catalonia, he wanted to reassure everyone. "The wounds are all healed. I had the stitches removed last night, so everything should be fine by Sunday. I feel ready for any race conditions".

The former world champion is very confident in himself, but still wants to maintain a rather open tactical approach. "There are many points where you can make a difference. The second climb of the Kwaremont will probably be a very heated point; you need to be in the top ten there. It will be hard, but we know we need to stay at the front as much as possible from the last 140 kilometers. The best thing to do on those climbs is to attack. If you're pedaling at 600 watts at the front, it's not like they'll suddenly be able to pedal at 700 watts behind you to overtake you".

The press conference closed with an analysis of the climbs best suited to the Belgian and on Milan-San Remo, a race that Remco would have liked to add to his calendar. "If I had to choose a climb that I really like, I'd say the Muur, but it's no longer on the schedule. In any case, climbs where the efforts are longer suit me better. Like Berg ten Houte, Kruisberg, Kwaremont. The Paterberg is more explosive, but it's so early in the route that it should be considered as a different type of effort. So I'll simply have to be ready for all the climbs we'll encounter. As for Milan-San Remo, it was considered in the program for a long time, but in the end we removed it for two reasons: first, because the weather in Tenerife was terrible and I wouldn't have been able to get away easily. Second, because I also knew I would be racing the Ronde. And the combination with San Remo, Catalonia and the Tour de France would have been perhaps excessive".