New European time trial champion Remco Evenepoel - who on Thursday took the title in Alkmaar, in the Netherlands - has dedicated his win to Belgian compatriots Bjorg Lambrecht, who died following a crash on Monday, and Stef Loos, who passed away following an accident in March this year. Lotto Soudal rider Lambrecht was killed after crashing during stage 3 of the Tour de Pologne three days ago. Loos lost his life during the Mémorial Alfred Gadenne elite amateur race in spring, after going off course and colliding with a van. Nineteen-year-old Evenepoel said ahead of his ride on Thursday that he was trying to win the stars - referring to the stars on the European champion`s jersey - for the stars of his colleagues in the sky. `I gave everything that I had to try to win for Bjorg and Stef,` said Evenepoel on his Deceuninck-QuickStep team`s website. `Thinking of them gave me a boost while warming up, but also during the race.ADVERTISEMENT `This victory isn`t mine - it`s theirs. This is for the boys in heaven,` he added. ``I know that Remco was thinking about Bjorg and Stef,` Evenepoel`s father, Patrick, told hln.be. `I can see that he`s now cracking emotionally, but I think that`s so beautiful. `He should keep his feet on the ground? Just let him do it [celebrate]. He feels good about himself. Remco is a simple guy: he sent me a message that I had to make sure that his supporters were involved in the celebrations after he won in San Sebastian. Now we have to celebrate a European title,` he said.
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