Column Rick Fanualijm | 10 Commandments Remco

We’ve learned from a well-informed source what the success of Remco Evenepoel could be. On the morning of March 24, 2017, the day he informed his parents that he would stop playing football and become a racing driver, Remco received an app on his mobile phone from The Cycling Gods (Stone Tables are passé), in which he handed the Ten Commandments of Cycling, which he was It has been strictly followed ever since. here they are:

1) Cherish the Holy Fire

Remco is obsessed. Everything should give way to its sport. Even when he played football from the age of eleven to seventeen, he was passionate about it. The bar has always been raised. When he was 11, he decided to play football for Eindhoven, which cost him a 350-kilometre car ride and back every training day.

2) race

Remco gets the most out of it. He lives 200% for his sport. Do not drink a drop of alcohol. I always look for marginal gains across the board.

3) Take out your neck

Throw his heart on his sleeve, he says what he means. It is not always appreciated. As a young footballer, he was always and everywhere demanding the captain’s bracelet and criticizing his criticism for the lack of discipline among his teammates. After last year’s World Cup, Parler-vrai caused a collision with Wout Van Aert.

4) Ride your own course

Remko is a character, does what he wants, tolerates interference with difficulty. As a young player, he left Anderlecht due to a betrayal of trust with his coach. He builds a reputation as an athlete with a guide, as arrogant. But he remains faithful to his principles, and does not deviate from the path that he has set for himself.

5) Know yourself

Remco is ambitious but patient. In short stage races (Switzerland, Tirreno, Basque Country) he first fell through the ice. But he knows he still has to grow. “It took me three years to get to know my body,” he said after winning the Vuelta.

6) pedal response

Remco has to deal with criticism for three seasons. He will be arrogant, show very little respect, and talk away. Especially after the disaster at the World Cup in Leuven last year, he had a hard time. Twelve months later, he drove over the World Cup Finals in Wollongong with his finger on his mouth.

7) Straighten the back

Two years ago, Remco dived into a 15-meter-deep ravine in Muro di Sormano during a tour of Lombardy. Still, dead or paralyzed. He had to recover for months, inconsolable and uncontrollable. But he continues to dream, believe and work.

8) Follow your heart

Remco is going crazy after his great season, including Team Ineos, where he can win more packs. But he has wisely decided, at this point in his career, not to follow his wallet, but rather his heart. He resides with Lefevere.

9) rate

Remco puts his teammates in the spotlight after the Vuelta and the World Cup. He thanks his parents, fiancée and supporters. He thanks Quick-Step by not responding to Ineos’ siren song. His final red Vuelta jersey was sold at a charity auction.

10) Make a cocoon

Remco seeks and finds peace within his family’s cocoon and some friends, primarily mother Agna and father Patrick and sweet Oumi. He knows there’s an avalanche coming at him, but he won’t be fooled. He understands that hacking is easier than confirming.

If Remco sticks to these Ten Commandments in 2023, he will win every race he starts.