Klaas Lodewyck, sports director of QuickStep-AlphaVinyl, suggested that Lemko Evenpoel has the same hunger and "killer mentality" as Lance Armstrong.

In a lengthy feature on Evenpoel in the Dutch magazine Ride, published by Wielerflits, Lodewyck suggested that Evenpoel and Armstrong had the same personality, although he acknowledged that his comparison may be flawed in some respects.

Armstrong, like Evenpoel, became world champion at only 22 years old. He went on to win the Tour de France seven times, but lost his Tour victory in 2012 and was permanently banned after a USADA investigation exposed his heavy use of doping. The disgraced Texan finally admitted to using banned substances in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in January 2013.

Evenepoel won the Vuelta a España and the World Championships in Australia, as well as the Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He is often compared to Eddy Merckx, but Lodewijk emphasizes the similarities with Armstrong.

Lodewyck grew up during the Armstrong era and competed professionally, primarily with BMC, from 2009 to 2015. he ran four grand tours and classics before being forced to retire at age 30. in 2018, he joined Quick Step as a directeur sportif. He joined the team and, at his young age, has a deeper understanding of Evenpoel.

"It may be a false comparison, but in terms of character, Lemko and Lance have a lot in common," Lodwick said in a ride feature by Cycling News.

"Aside from not getting along with Armstrong in the past, Lance was also someone who couldn't win enough. When he [Armstrong] started somewhere, he wanted to be the best. Lemko always wants to win too."

"On the last Sunday morning of the Vuelta a España in Madrid, he already started talking to us about the World Championships in Wollongong. It is never enough. It is a sign that he is always driven to be the best and win races."

Lodewick suggested that Evenpoel was using outside criticism to enhance his abilities; after breaking a complex hip in a crash at Il Lombardia in 2020, it was questioned whether Evenpoel could sustain his meteoric rise in the sport. He and Quick-Step rushed him back to racing, but he was not strong enough to be competitive in the 2021 Giro d'Italia. He also had a falling out with Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma), the leader of the Belgian world championship team.

In 2022, Evenpoel had learned from his mistakes and seemed to have matured greatly. His victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège silenced his critics and freed him from doubts about his ability to return to his true form.

"Lance was a killer. If you kicked him in the shins, he kicked you back ten times harder. He usually rode his bike, and sometimes he would even verbally fight back. Lemko also has that killer mentality," Lodewick suggested to Ride.

"He also often responds with performances on the bike. But he makes more diplomatic comments.

Ride's feature includes comments not only from Lodewick, but also from Patrick Lefebvre and Cohen Pelgrim, the team managers of Quick-Step Alphavinil.

They all believe that, like many young athletes who are turning heads in the peloton, Evenpoel, due to his age and relative lack of racing experience, has not yet reached his peak, but is learning rapidly and using every difficult moment and criticism for improvement and maturity.

"That boy has taken a lot. I have the most fun when I can prove people wrong," Lefebvre said.

"At the Vuelta victory celebration in Madrid, he was laughing quietly in his belly, as they say in Flanders. They were all saying: 'Lemko, you can't win the Vuelta. Lemko can't do it. Lemko can't do it, he's in trouble after 2000 meters. He can't even descend. I used to tell the riders: answer with the pedals. Kick first, then talk. "

This was Evenepoel's run at the Vuelta and he went straight to the World Championships. They finished third in the time trial and took the title in the road race from a breakaway and a 35km solo attack.

"Winning is in their DNA and they are already putting a lot of pressure on themselves. Lemko has won some great races in the past, but there were always people who felt they needed to analyze him closely," Lodewijk suggested.

"He could handle the criticism well, but after a while it becomes a burden. I think it was important that he stood out in a big classic race like Liège and won impressively. It was a win where he shut everybody up."

"In his first year as a pro in 2019, he ran impressively, but there was still a lot for us to work on and refine. He could improve a lot in terms of positioning and explosiveness. He wasn't quite ready to be a cyclist yet, partly because he had only been riding a bike for two years.

"Even an athlete like that can make great progress. So I was convinced that he had the potential to achieve something special in the future. In the last weeks of this season, I think he is a very complete rider and has taken a big step forward."