Disappointment after Evenepoel 'logically' falls short in Liège after tough winter: "Got caught up in the overly high expectations myself"

Afterwards, Evenepoel remained relatively composed about his collapse: "I'm not a robot; everyone else had a normal winter, and I didn’t," he explained. Marc Sergeant also sees no reason for panic in his analysis. "If I were Evenepoel, I wouldn't worry too much," the former rider wrote in his column for Het Nieuwsblad, having finished sixth in La Doyenne himself back in 1986. "Just give yourself a little more time."

His victory in the Brabantse Pijl was an incredible boost, especially in his first race back. A few days later, Evenepoel arguably looked like the strongest man in the Amstel Gold Race. But according to Sergeant, that created a distorted picture, even for Evenepoel himself. "If he made a mistake over the past two weeks, it was simply that he allowed himself to get swept up in the overly high expectations that arose after winning the Brabantse Pijl. When, in fact, it's almost logical that a rider who’s been sidelined for so long would eventually hit a wall."

The Belgian analyst preferred to focus on the best Belgian of the day. "Chapeau to Thibau Nys. Chapeau to Lidl–Trek. These days, young riders are often thrown to the wolves very quickly, often right away in the biggest races. Sometimes that leads to disappointment. Lidl–Trek has brought Nys along carefully. First winning a stage in Hungary, a race we barely pay attention to in Flanders. Then Romandie, already much more impressive. Then the Tour de Suisse, even more so. They’ve built it up in a way that allowed Nys to immediately deliver three strong results in his first Ardennes triple."

It promises a lot for the future of the top talent. "Soon he'll already be in the Tour de France, where he should absolutely be capable of winning a stage. But also, in the longer term, in a Monument like Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Against this Pogacar, Nys isn’t yet a match, but this scenario won’t repeat itself every year. Let Nys find himself in a small group of four or five top riders in a few years, and with his sprint, he will absolutely be a contender for the win."

For the winner, the former Lotto manager has nothing but praise, but he believes it’s mainly his team that deserves a medal. Pogacar made his move on La Redoute. "He just wanted to test things out, see what the others would do if he attacked. But the rest were already so cooked that they had no answer left. And that’s the great merit of UAE. That team is running so smoothly; they make it so easy for Pogacar: phenomenal. That’s Pogacar’s big advantage, not just his own immense talent, but the fact that in every situation, at any moment, he has a teammate he can rely on."