Seventh in the final ranking of the last Critérium du Dauphiné, Remco Evenepoel said immediately after arriving at the top of the Plateau des Glières that he was aware of having “still work ahead of the Tour de France”. Twenty days later, the Soudal Quick-Step runner is heading to the start of his first Grande Boucle with the preparation he has refined with his trainer Koen Pelgrim in recent weeks. A final training block on which the Dutch technician agreed to lift the veil.
Its preparation: a mix between volume and intensity
“Immediately after the Dauphiné, Remco stayed in the south of France for a new eleven-day altitude training camp at Isola 2000. He first took the time to recover from the efforts of this stage race before tackling a new training block. We didn’t just work on one theme, since we worked on volume via long outings as well as intensity with specific exercises. Before the Dauphiné, Remco had already completed a first altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada but it is beneficial to have new exposure to the effects of altitude in the run-up to a Grand Tour. The effects of this type of stay are quite personal, but we now have some experience in the field and know how our riders react to this type of training camp.”
Remco Evenepoel confides before his first Tour de France: “I’m more like Miguel Indurain than Alberto Contador”
Its shape: at the same weight as at the start of the 2023 Giro
“Remco is very close to its best level. During the Dauphiné, some observers may have been worried about its behavior in the mountains, but its performances were not a surprise for us and confirmed the level that we had assessed earlier during training in Sierra Nevada, Remco’s fall on the Tour of the Basque Country still forced him to spend almost three weeks without training on the bike and it was logical that the timing of his rise to power was delayed. The mistake to avoid, in such a context, is to try too hard to make up for lost time. Remco has remained calm since his last race. He is certainly ready to start his first Tour de France but the question of his degree of competitiveness always depends on the form of his rivals. As he himself confided, the Brabançon has lost weight. we never reveal the precise data of our runners because this is quite sensitive data but I can tell you that his scale displays the same figures as when he approached the Giro last year. This therefore means that he is perfectly on target in this regard. Does he still have room for improvement? Yes, this is very often the case of a runner who aims for a good general classification. The pace of the race mixed with his recovery abilities will allow him to get the last percent as they say. The route of this Grande Boucle has the particularity of having scheduled a high mountain stage from the fourth day of racing, but this does not completely disrupt the logic of the preparation. The last week is so difficult that we cannot afford to see the fitness curve sag in the last days…”
The Burgundy chrono already in sight
“We have carried out two reconnaissances of the time trial that will link Nuit-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin (7th stage). The first this winter and the second at the end of last week. Remco is the world champion in this speciality and we were able to see that this route suited his qualities perfectly. The terrain should allow him to express his power qualities and exploit his aerodynamics. It is a moment that we have circled in red in the road book for this Tour, but it is not the one and only stage that Remco has in mind!”
Our consultants preface the Tour de France: “A stage for De Lie, a part of the unknown for Remco and van Aert”
