The like of a professional cyclist is often busy but rarely as busy as Remco Evenepoel‘s last few days. After finishing second at the Rwanda World Championships, the Belgian has made the long trip back to Europe, arrived in France for the European Championships on Tuesday morning, and is going to be racing for the win today to try and obtain another title to add to his current Olympic and World titles.
“In my head, I was prepared for this, which makes it easier. I started the journey as relaxed as possible. We had hardly any delays, and I was able to sleep for about six hours on the plane. In the end, I was already at the hotel at 8:30 Tuesday morning. So everything went well,” Evenepoel told Het Nieuwsblad last night after arriving in France.
The trip had been planned ahead to the minor detail to ensure that the Soudal – Quick-Step rider could arrive to Privas this morning in the Provence region of France in the best conditions to fight for another title after having spent week and a half in the heat and altitude of Rwanda. Now he faces much different weather conditions and a new set of rivals – none of which were at the worlds’ time-trial.
“I’m ready. The competition is definitely different from Kigali. These are the real powerhouses. It’ll be a different battle than in Kigali. But I’ve already beaten them, on every type of course. I don’t think I should be afraid of them, and I’m convinced I can beat them if I have the legs.”
The main rivals for the Belgian
The likes of Filippo Ganna and Joshua Tarling are definitely the men that are expected to match him, but dangers lurk everywhere and also includes strong specialists such as Ethan Hayter, Mathias Vacek, Mads Pedersen, Alec Segaert, Stefan Küng and more.
“I imagine they’re fresher, which is to their advantage. But I start last, so I know exactly what times I have to set. That’s to my advantage. And we’re riding late, which gives me half a day to recover. Besides, I went to bed early on Sunday night especially for this European Championship,” he admits. “On Monday, I rode a bit more on the rollers; I did everything a professional rider should do.”
The course does not have anything too specific or special about it, but it’s the wind that can play an unexpected role in the race with a forecast of strong headwinds for the riders. “It’s not too technical, with a short climb to the finish at the end. They’re predicting a strong wind, four to five Beaufort against me. With my aerodynamics, that should work to my advantage against the big guys like Ganna and Tarling. Being small and compact is definitely an advantage over big and a bit wider in these conditions”.
But with a climb to the finish, it will still require some pacing and strategy not to blow up in a key part of the coruse. “You have to have something left for the last five kilometers, because the wind is blowing against me there, followed by that climb to the finish. But again, it’s a course that suits me. Maybe a bit too short for pros, but the wind will make it difficult. I’m obviously starting to win, but if I have to admit defeat to someone better, I won’t be sad about it. I already have a nice, corrective, nicer jersey hanging on my shoulders,” he concluded.