Belgian Cyclist Evenepoel Clashes with Journalist Over Comments About In-Laws

"I was a bit surprised by the tone of his message and the words he used," admitted Ruben Van Gucht on Radio 2. Remco Evenepoel reacted in an Instagram message to the journalist’s comments about his Moroccan in-laws. "I feel obliged to respond to Ruben Van Gucht’s absurd and disrespectful statements about my private life. He claimed that I support my wife’s family. Let’s be clear: this is completely absurd," he began in a long text published in his story.

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Van Gucht believes his comments were misinterpreted and that he never intended to criticize Remco Evenepoel. "I also wanted to clarify that the interpretation he made of it, and subsequently all the media, was not the one I had made." He assured that he did not state that Evenepoel financially supported Oumi’s parents, the Belgian cyclist’s wife. "I never mentioned a financial aspect, nor used a single word about money. Yet that’s the interpretation people made. It was certainly not my intention to talk about that."

The 38-year-old journalist then explains his thought process: "The words ’take care of’ are often considered very positive in another context and here, they are suddenly perceived as a flaw or some kind of accusation. Whereas I really saw it as a positive quality." His employer has also opened an investigation to determine any potential professional misconduct. "The VRT ethics committee also reviewed the issue," said Ruben Van Gucht. "People may not like to hear it, but they established that no journalistic error had been made, except that some words were perhaps unfortunate."

Van Gucht wishes to turn this page of misunderstanding. "I would be very happy to go for a pintje or a coffee with Mr. Evenepoel," he concluded. Currently, the double Olympic champion is participating in the Tour de Romandie.