2023-05-01 17:49:23
Did he already have the bike in his head when he was 15?
“I got on really well with Remco very quickly because we were both cycling fans! On Mondays, we discussed the races of the weekend. And already at the time, I remember telling him that with his qualities he should do duathlon or triathlon, even without knowing how he swam. But in his head, there was no room for doubt, it was football, period! I know that ‘he drove a little on Sundays, the day following matches, with his dad, to clean up dirt… which we advised once morest because, as he already had exceptional endurance anyway, it was not that quality that he had to work first to progress in football.”
All his actions and gestures are interpreted, positively or negatively. The trickiest part is obviously managing the negative comments that he has every interest in… not reading! He is a public figure. And managing all that will be one of the keys to his career.
So you knew him well as a teenager. Now he is an adult, who has also recently married and who has become world champion in his discipline. He grew up. Did you feel this evolution?
“Yes yes! I have especially noticed this evolution since the beginning of his racing career. At Neerpede, we rubbed shoulders with the ‘Remco warrior’. Me, what has really struck me for a good year is his side now calm and calm, very different from his football period and his first seasons on the bike. In 2022, whether on Liege-Bastogne-Liege, on the Vuelta or at the World Championships, how quiet he was! And I had the same feeling during the party organized on the Grand-Place in Brussels. When the mayor Philippe Close handed him the microphone, I was apprehensive given the crowd, the pressure, etc. But he responded very calmly, taking time for reflection. It’s quite a significant change in its leader. Even if his warrior character sometimes returns, with its good and bad sides, his attitude has also evolved in racing. “
We know that Evenepoel has recently read books on mental preparation, which he did not do when he was still a young teenage footballer. He probably learned from these books how to handle certain situations.
“It is certain, yes. He has really done a lot of work in this area. I know, for example, that he forbids himself to go on social networks during meals to eat mindfully. It is a set of little things that help him in his life today. When he played football at 15-16 years old, he didn’t have to deal with everything that now revolves around him such as the media, the supporters, the social networks, etc. At the time, he was just another young talent. Now it’s different. He’s mastered racing and training. On the other hand, he has to focus on everything that there is around, on this famous emotional management which is part of the parameters of the performance and which influences the career and the personal life of a top-level sportsman.With its last results, this invisible training is therefore more and more part of of his daily life. It’s a real positive step that he has taken. I wouldn’t say that we have before us a ‘new Remco’ but he has in any case passed a milestone. All his actions and gestures are interpreted, positively or negatively. The trickiest part is obviously managing the negative comments that he has every interest in… not reading! Moreover, proof that it touches him, in certain celebrations of victories, he placed his index finger on his mouth to address a “shh” to his detractors. During his career, he will necessarily experience ups and downs. And he will have to learn to ignore the moments of low, whether in public or in his heart of hearts. He is a public figure. And managing all that will be one of the keys to his career. “
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