Remco Evenepoel was named Belgian Sportsman of the Year for the fifth consecutive year on Sunday, and Eddy Merckx's record of six titles will be his inspiration for the 2026 season. Evenepoel, 25, has been a professional cyclist for seven years and has only missed out on the Sportsman of the Year title in seasons when crashes or injuries hampered his success.
"In my opinion, this is the biggest award a Belgian athlete can win. I am truly honored to receive it again," Evenepoel said after flying to Belgium for a day from the Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe training camp in Mallorca.
Event organizers arranged a private jet for Evenepoel - he trained in the morning and was back in Spain by late Sunday evening. "In seven years as a professional cyclist, I've won five times. And the two years I didn't win, I was injured," Evenepoel said.
Now he is close to catching up with the legendary Merckx, who won the Sportsman of the Year title six times in a row between 1969 and 1974. "I'm not far from that and I still have a few years ahead of me. It's a beautiful goal to achieve and surpass. It would be wonderful and a great honor to be on par with such a big name. I want to try to be the best athlete Belgium has ever known," Evenepoel said.
Evenepoel won the Belgian, European and world time trial titles this year, but had an emotionally mixed season after a winter crash that severely disrupted her preparation and delayed the start of the season. She won a time trial stage at the Tour de France but then retired due to fatigue.
"It was a year of ups and downs," Evenepoel explained. "A good start, a difficult middle and a strong end. I'm very happy with how I finished the season. It gives me a lot of motivation and morale to come through the winter strong."
The Red Bull training camp marked Evenepoel's official debut with the German superteam after he ended his contract with Soudal–QuickStep a year earlier. Evenepoel and Red Bull considered competing in the Tour of Flanders and Giro d'Italia in 2026, but ultimately decided on a more traditional and conservative season with the Tour and the World Championships in Canada as his main goals.
He will make his Red Bull racing debut in the Mallorca Challenge Team Tour (TTT) before heading to the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana stage race.
