Evenepoel crushes almost everyone in Paris-Nice: "I think I can still improve"

"It's not my place to attack the yellow jersey," the 24-year-old Flemish rider from Team Soudal Quick-Step told Het Laatste Nieuws before the final stage. "It's going to be a crucial and challenging day. I'll have to play it by ear and see how things unfold. If an opportunity presents itself, I'll certainly seize it, but it's not my role to target the yellow jersey. That's something for the riders from Visma | Lease a Bike." Nevertheless, Evenepoel couldn't resist launching attacks, providing a thrilling spectacle.

"I'm not disappointed that I didn't win the overall classification," stated Patrick Lefevere's protege in the post-race interview. "When you consider that only Matteo could keep up with me, he deserves the victory. I pushed myself to the limit three times on the Côte de Peille, but couldn't drop him. So he truly earned this win," he added. "I'm more than satisfied with my final placement."

"Our team's strategy was to up the pace on the Côte de Peille, but the peloton had already thinned out significantly due to a nasty crash during the descent," Evenepoel explained regarding their plan for the day. "Lidl-Trek applied a lot of pressure afterward. I managed to maintain a good position, which I've consistently done throughout the week. When I noticed there were only ten of us left, I decided to launch a few full-speed attacks and see how the others would respond. I believe I managed to tire them out considerably. I'll be honest: by the time we reached the top of Peille, I was utterly exhausted from the repeated attacks. But that's the price you pay to win races. You have to endure the suffering and go all out," declared the aggressive rider.

When asked whether he currently feels he's in his best form ever, Evenepoel responds with some uncertainty. "I'm not sure. I still need to undergo some altitude training, whereas many of the guys here have already completed several sessions. However, my upcoming priorities are the Ardennes classics. I'm not performing poorly by any means, but I believe there's still room for growth and improvement. Ultimately, it's up to the coaches and the team."