Vervaeke on Evenepoel's situation and leadership in Ardennes due to his absence: "Up to Remco to communicate these things"

"Things went very well during the Tour of the Basque Country," the 30-year-old Flemish rider tells us when we ask about his form. "I managed to finish third in the second stage. You're never handed anything in a race like that, so it's a very nice feeling. That third place in Spain also gave my confidence a boost."

And so Vervaeke, alongside others like Mauri Vansevenant and William Junior Lecerf, seems to be a key player within Patrick Lefevere’s team. "I'm scheduled to ride all the Ardennes classics," he confidently confirmed his schedule. "So, I’m really curious to see what I can achieve there."

The loss of Evenepoel was of course a significant setback for the Belgian WorldTour team. "Actually, I was supposed to ride the upcoming races in service of Remco, but that has now changed. It is, of course, enormously unfortunate that our leader is out. It’s very tough mentally. However, at the same time it does give a rider like me the opportunity to chase my own success. And I won't let that opportunity pass me by."

Does Vervaeke dare to assert himself to take on the role of team leader? "Leader might be a big word. I’m all too aware that I don’t easily win a race. We don’t have a pronounced leader. Everyone kind of gets a chance to go for it. There's a bit more freedom. We have a number of interesting cards to play. I won’t tie myself to any specific result, but I do want to perform very well across all the hill classics. A top five finish would be very nice."

Finally, over the last few years, Vervaeke has indeed been someone who acted as a kind of right-hand man or confidant to Evenepoel. "We talk a lot, but in my opinion, it's up to Remco himself to communicate how he's doing," the Belgian from Ronse concludes our interview.