Remco Evenepoel has confirmed that he will stay with Soudal-QuickStep next season, drawing a line under persistent speculation linking him with a transfer to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Speaking at the Belgian team hotel in Wetzikon on Friday ahead of the World Championships road race, Evenepoel stated that he would still be part of Patrick Lefevere's squad in 2025.
"I'll stay where I am, that's pretty clear," Evenepoel said. "No transfers."
Although Evenepoel is under contract with Soudal-QuickStep until the end of 2026, his future with the team has been the subject of much conjecture. Last year, he was repeatedly linked with a possible move to Ineos, while the recent arrival of Red Bull as title sponsor at Bora-Hansgrohe fuelled speculation that he would move to Ralph Denk's squad in 2025.
On Thursday evening, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the potential switch to Red Bull had fallen through. On Friday morning, Evenepoel confirmed he would remain with Soudal-QuickStep, though he downplayed reports that he had been seriously considering a transfer.
"There has been speculation as always and I think some information was more than I knew myself, which was pretty funny to hear, but nothing changes," Evenepoel said when asked by Cyclingnews after the press conference.
"I'll stay with my [Soudal-QuickStep] teammates. We'll work and fight for the biggest goal, that is to one day win the Tour de France."
Evenepoel placed third overall at his debut Tour this summer, winning a stage and the best young rider classification. He went on to claim gold in both the time trial and road race at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and he is on the brink of a historic Double-Double after retaining his time trial title at the Zurich World Championships.
Earlier this week, Soudal-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere floated the idea that Evenepoel could ride both the Giro d'Italia and Tour in 2025, while the team has added to the climbing talent around the Belgian by confirming the arrival of Valentin Paret-Peintre from Decathlon-QuickStep.