Remco Evenepoel set to compete at Belgian Waffle Ride Kansas

Belgian Remco Evenepoel and Deceuninck - Quick-Step teammate Mattia Cattaneo will race the 111 mile Belgian Waffle Ride (BWR) in Kansas on Halloween

The gravel race on October 31 is the fourth and final BWR of the year and aptly coined "the Hell of the Mid-West". California, North Carolina and Utah hosted the first three events, with the new Kansas the finale in this year's Belgian Waffle ride series.

Evenepoel will compete in his first gravel event in his off-season, as the discipline continues to capture the imagination of pro riders. 

Evenepoel lost some time on the gravel stage 11 of the 2021 Giro d'Italia on the White roads of Tuscany, so he might be looking to up his off-road skills?

The new Kansas race offers three distances, the longer Waffle, the half-distance Wafer event, and the shorter Wanna event.

The route includes fast roads, loose gravel, rocky trails and deep creek crossings to soak shoes representing the best of USA gravel racing. 

Evenepoel and Cattaneo will compete in the longer 111 mile Waffle event which features 8,000 feet (2,438 metres) of climbing. 

The inaugural BWR Kansas event, like the other BWR events in San Diego, Asheville, and Cedar City will have a deep field of professional riders and an expansive list of hungry amateur riders drawn to the unparalleled opportunity to race alongside their heroes, like World Tour rider, Peter Stetina, who won the 2019 San Diego edition.

The BWR will be offering a prize purse to the top five riders, both female and male! Racers and patrons will be treated to Belgian waffles, Belgian ales, muscles and frites, more waffles and more beer on race day.

Evenepoel comes away from an action packed road season, after returning from a serious crash from the 2020 edition of Il Lombardia, the Belgian all-rounder made his hyped grand tour debut with the Giro d’Italia in May. Despite coming close to the pink jersey, he abandoned in the final week.

Evenepoel went on to win 8 races in 2021 in his third season in the WorldTour.

The young hopeful of Belgian cycling is expected to compete in the Vuelta a España rather than the Giro d’Italia in 2022, said Deceuninck team manager Patrick Lefevere “The idea is that he will compete in the Vuelta (August 19-September 11) rather than the Giro. It would be a mistake to field him both in Italy and in Spain next year. Remco will only be twenty-two years old: a Tour on the year is enough for him. He didn’t start cycling very young like Tadej Pogacar was able to do it.”

According to Lefevere, Evenepoel’s goal will be to win 8- or 10-day stage races like Tirreno-Adriatico (March 7-13), the Dauphiné (June 5-12), or the Tour de Suisse (June 12-19)  in 2022.

Belgian Waffle Ride – Kansas

Friday, October 29

6 to 8 p.m. – VIP Dinner/Tilford Foundation Fundraiser – Sunflower Outdoor and Bike
8 p.m. – Partij van Halloween featuring a special musical guest – Free State Stage, 8th & Massachusetts

Saturday, October 30

7 to 9 a.m. – Expo vendor load in – 8th & Massachusetts
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. – BWR Expo – 8th & Massachusetts
Noon to 6 p.m. – Beer garden – 8th & Massachusetts
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. – Race registration and packet pick up – Sunflower Outdoor & Bike
3 p.m. – rider briefing – Free State Stage

Sunday, October 31

6 a.m. – Venue opens, coffee and waffle gorging commences
7:30 a.m. – Waffle Men start
7:40 a.m. – Waffle Women start
7:50 a.m. – Wafer and Wanna ride start
5 p.m. – Awards ceremony – Free State Stage

For more information, please visit: https://belgianwaffleride.bike/pages/kansas