{"id":24082,"date":"2026-06-26T11:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T11:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/24082\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T11:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T11:20:14","slug":"why-i-love-the-beautiful-game-remco-evenepoel-on-swapping-belgium-u16s-for-two-olympic-golds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/24082\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Love The Beautiful Game: Remco Evenepoel on swapping Belgium U16s for two Olympic golds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe used to play our football games on Saturday,\u201d explains Remco Evenepoel. \u201cOn Sunday, I would go to a forest and do my running training, somewhere between 10 and 20 kilometres, mostly for endurance, but with some (sprint) efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd because my passion for football was just falling away, it started to take more and more energy for me to do that training on Sunday than it used to. At one point, I remember just standing in the forest, and I told myself: \u2018Either you go now and do your running training, or you take your mountain bike and begin to ride.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I was standing there for about 20 minutes thinking: \u2018What am I going to do now?\u2019 And then I took the bike, went off, and that was the moment where I chose to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now a double Olympic champion, Evenepoel was once just a child who was obsessed with the ball. An academy star for both Anderlecht and PSV, he captained Belgium\u2019s Under-16s from left-back.<\/p>\n

Yet he lost his love for the game after being released from Anderlecht\u2019s academy as a 17-year-old, turning his back on a professional career to pursue newer cycling dreams. The decision paid off.<\/p>\n

Aside from his Olympic golds, Evenepoel is a Vuelta a Espana winner, a two-time Tour de France stage winner, has won prestigious one-day race Liege-Bastogne-Liege twice, and is possibly the best time trialist that the sport has ever seen.<\/p>\n

And now, as he begins his quest for a Tour de France podium next week, the World Cup in the background, the 26-year-old Belgian has managed to fall back in love with the beautiful game\u2026<\/p>\n

Growing up on the outskirts of Brussels, Evenepoel was part of a sporting family. His father Patrick had a brief career as a professional cyclist, but his son was obsessed with football \u2014 a fan of the city\u2019s largest club, Anderlecht.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there was ever an hour with nothing to do, I would grab my ball and do some stuff in the garage, breaking a lot of lamps,\u201d Evenepoel remembers. \u201cIt could also be enjoying playing tennis against the wall, doing a few laps on the bike around the house, but most of the time, it was football.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was about four years old, I went on one of those holiday camps. There were scouts of Anderlecht and Molenbeek there, but because my family had always been Anderlecht fans, the choice was easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

It set the all-rounder on his academy journey. As a child, it allowed him to be in the stands at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium for a goal that he describes as the best he has ever seen live \u2014 Mbark Boussoufa\u2019s last-minute winner against Club Brugge to steal the league for Anderlecht.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was completely on the outside, in the cold, but made this crazy action, shot from a crazy angle,\u201d he remembers. \u201cI was a young kid, he was my favorite player, and watching it live was pretty amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time he was 11, Evenepoel\u2019s ability had seized the attention of clubs outside Belgium. He chose to move to PSV, in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, living in digs as an international scholar.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, actually after two years, I had requests from Premier League clubs \u2014 Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United as well,\u201d Evenepoel continues. \u201cBut I think back then I just felt the step was too big or it would change my life too much, too early. I was only a 13-year-old. In the end, I had the chance to go back to Anderlecht, so I did that at 15.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the reason that Evenepoel stood out was his energy. \u201cI played everywhere,\u201d he says. \u201cThe younger I was, the more I was like an attacking midfielder, the famous No. 10. But of course, I\u2019m not the tallest guy, and my running endurance was probably better than my technique.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo they moved me to be a box-to-box midfielder, as a defensive midfielder when I stopped growing, and then totally to the left side, as a winger or a full-back. So I played everywhere, and it was good to play multiple positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evenepoel says he used to model his game on Lucas Biglia, the 58 cap Argentina midfielder who played for Anderlecht for seven years between 2006 and 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t the quickest, but was always running and was quite calm on the ball,\u201d Evenepoel says. \u201cI had the same in me. Then, when I was left-back, I would just run the whole game because of my endurance, (and) be really attacking as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Evenepoel\u2019s role model Lucas Biglia celebrates a goal for Anderlecht. (FAHY-LEFOUR-THYS\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

His fitness levels are still legendary in the Anderlecht academy. As a 15-year-old, he beat every member of the senior squad in the bleep test \u2014 a conditioning exercise where participants have to run shuttles between cones placed 25m apart, finishing each repetition faster than triggers which sound at an increasing rate.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one point, the CD playing the sounds actually finished,\u201d Evenepoel remembers. \u201cApparently my record is still standing, so they knew then I had something unique. I\u2019m still pretty proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On another occasion, he entered the Brussels half marathon as a 16-year-old, one day after competing in a football match \u2014 finishing 13th in 76 minutes. \u201cI ended up running with the Kenyan guys for some of it,\u201d he laughs. \u201cThen I blew up.\u201d<\/p>\n

His ability began to earn higher honors. Bob Browaeys, coach of Belgium Under-16, made Evenepoel captain of his side.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was at the highest level,\u201d Browaeys told The Athletic back in 2024<\/a>. \u201cI never had a player with such a high-performance mindset. That was unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

It meant that Evenepoel played alongside several truly elite footballers during his academy journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played a lot with (Juventus and Belgium striker) Lois Openda,\u201d Evenepoel remembers. \u201cAlso Cyril Ngonge, who plays for Napoli. Lots of guys that are now in the Belgian league. They were all in my age group.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then there were a lot of guys who were just above me and just under me who I would play with. (AC Milan and Belgium winger) Alexis Saelemaekers was one. I also played with Cody Gakpo at PSV. And then Jeremy Doku was two years younger, but he used to train with us (at Anderlecht).\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Cody Gakpo during his time at PSV, before joining Premier League side Liverpool. (Dean Mouhtaropoulos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Evenepoel also notes that another former teammate Albert Sambi Lokonga, lived out his dream by regularly appearing for Arsenal in the 2021-22 season, the Premier League side he supports alongside Anderlecht.<\/p>\n

\u201cGakpo really stood out in his junior years,\u201d Evenepoel remembers. \u201cYou could just see those flashes which he shows now when he had the ball, he was really special. But there were plenty more who were really good when we were younger, but who got a little stuck at the under-23 level. But Gakpo was one of the most impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Initially, Evenepoel picks himself in midfield of a dream five-a-side squad of former teammates. \u201cBut ah, I can\u2019t pick myself over Saelemaekers,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n

Evenepoel ends up going for six, picking Roma\u2019s Mile Svilar in goal, Leeds United\u2019s Sebastiaan Bornauw at the back, before loading his attack with Ngonge, Saelemaekers, Gakpo and Doku. His dream coach?<\/p>\n

\u201cVincent Kompany,\u201d he replies instantly. \u201cHe\u2019s more of a working coach than a tactical one, and I think it would be a good fit. We\u2019re both from close to each other in Brussels. It would be a good match.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Until the age of 16, Evenepoel\u2019s football career had progressed smoothly \u2014 playing for his favorite club, captain of the national team at age-group level. Suddenly, however, he began to find himself out of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty difficult because I was used to playing every game, for almost the entire game,\u201d Evenepoel says. \u201cWhen we played tournaments, I would be playing from the first game until the last and almost never be subbed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was a new situation; I felt as if I was still giving my maximum and being at the level I needed to be. But then they put me on the bench, and then, from the bench, I was out of the squad. I went from the top to the bottom quite quickly, and it was difficult to handle. I started to lose my passion for football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking unlikely to make it at Anderlecht, he moved to nearby KV Mechelen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went there to try to rediscover my love for the game,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I had been more patient, I would probably have had the chance to go professional there. When I told Mechelen I was going to stop, that I was going to pursue cycling, they told me they were going to offer me a contract in the summer. I was going to be with the under-23 team until I turned 18, and then with the first team.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid I make a mistake there in terms of my football career? Maybe, yes. But I think at that time I was feeling really sad playing football. I just wanted something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

It helped that Evenepoel\u2019s prodigal engine quickly manifested itself in cycling. After just a few training rides, his father took a closer look at his son\u2019s data, through a former professional\u2019s eye. The level was extraordinary \u2014 and Evenepoel\u2019s obsessive nature supercharged his development.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting playing football early, aged four, I always felt that though you would step onto the pitch and do the exercises, you were always in the same environment, just a football field. I wanted to discover new places, not just be in the same 100m area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some horrible days in the rain where I regretted my choice, but I think, in the end, you have to make risky choices. That was one of the riskiest.\u201d<\/p>\n

In cycling, the power was always there, despite early crashes which came from the novelty of riding in the peloton. As an 18-year-old, he won the time trial and road races at the junior versions of both the European and World Championships.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Evenepoel wins gold in the junior time trial at the world championships in 2018. (Photo: Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Did football help his cycling development?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy time in Holland at PSV really did, because the Dutch mentality is totally different to the Belgian one,\u201d he says. \u201cI really had to fight for my spot, because I\u2019d gone from being captain at Anderlecht to arriving in a new team not knowing anybody. And I ended up in the same situation \u2014 being captain of the team and playing all the games.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that was the period when I learned to take care of myself and focus on my own performance, which is still helping me now in cycling.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2019, he secured his first professional victory and became the youngest ever rider to win a top-level WorldTour race. He had gone stratospheric.<\/p>\n

At 26, Evenepoel\u2019s palmares include two Olympic gold medals, the 2022 Vuelta a Espana, two wins at the sport\u2019s oldest Monument, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and two stage wins at the Tour de France. Nicknamed the \u201caero bullet\u201d for his positioning on the bike, allied with his small stature, he is the world\u2019s most dominant time trialist against the clock.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Evenepoel with his two Olympic golds at Paris 2024. (Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It means he is at peace with how the end of his football career unfolded.<\/p>\n

Now, he has rediscovered his joy for the sport to the extent that he is desperate to follow Arsenal\u2019s results during races. He initially fell in love with the north London club during the 2005-06 season, their final year at Highbury wearing burgundy kits, pretending to be Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, and Robert Pires.<\/p>\n

This spring, the most prestigious race in the Netherlands, Amstel Gold, was on the same day as Arsenal\u2019s key Premier League game against Manchester City. Evenepoel won the race, but as he passed through the mixed zone, was desperate to find out the final score.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was half-time, so I just tried to find my phone and started to watch the game,\u201d he says. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t the best result, obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n

That day, Arsenal\u2019s lead was cut to two points by City \u2014 but Evenepoel was delighted as his side recovered to win the league. He regularly texts with fellow Belgian Leandro Trossard, attending the Emirates for a win over Chelsea in 2024 as he recovered from a major crash at the Tour of the Basque Country. \u201cIt was an amazing memory, such a beautiful game,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The World Cup knockout stages will overlap with July\u2019s Tour de France, threatening to throw his sleep schedule into disarray. Evenepoel talks down Belgium\u2019s chances \u2014 \u201cWe have a strong attacking line, but I have my doubts about the defence\u201d \u2014 while he is disappointed that Anderlecht academy starlet Nathan De Cat, 17, did not make the squad after injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a crazy talent,\u201d Evenepoel says. \u201cHe\u2019s been incredibly good, like an Axel Witsel type of player, but maybe a bit more technical and with more skill on the ball. He has a big future ahead \u2014 I think he\u2019ll be playing for one of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, one of these teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having joined German squad Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in a blockbuster transfer last winter, Evenepoel now works alongside sports scientists in Red Bull\u2019s football division.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mainly in terms of recovery, they share a lot of their methods in terms of physiotherapy and stuff like that,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of communication between both teams. It\u2019s interesting, because nowadays in cycling, we\u2019re not just riders and more, we\u2019re more developing to be athletes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same in football too. I remember when I went to watch Anderlecht games, the players weren\u2019t that muscular, they were thin and technical. Now, the average weight is probably 10 kilograms higher than it used to be 20 years ago. The body mass is completely different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does the closeness of that work mean that Evenepoel still misses football? Last year, his Red Bull teammate Primoz Roglic, a former elite ski-jumper, told The Athletic that he still dreams of flying.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Evenepoel replies. \u201cWhen I go to watch games, like Arsenal vs Chelsea, I mean it was my dream to play at that stadium. When I was sitting in the stands, looking at my favorite team, there was this fire in me, like, maybe I should have pushed through.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut on the other hand, I quickly remind myself that if I had been playing for a football team, I would not have become Olympic champion twice, I would not have won a Grand Tour. And then I started to accept the fact I\u2019m not playing football anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe used to play our football games on Saturday,\u201d explains Remco Evenepoel. \u201cOn Sunday, I would go to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,1682,3937,6599,4035],"class_list":["post-24082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-belgium","tag-belgium","tag-cycling","tag-fifa-mens-world-cup","tag-global-sports","tag-olympics"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116816145797105004","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}