“The Dauphiné Remco time was stunning!”
Winner of the two times he played this season, on the Tour de Romandie and during the Critérium du Dauphiné, Remco Evenepoel seated his absolute reference status a little more. “”The time trial he delivered in France two weeks ago was really stunning, Souffle Serge Pauwels. Succeeding in rejecting Vingegaard at twenty seconds and Pogacar at nearly 50 on a route of barely seventeen kilometers is a very impressive performance. I had access to its recorded power data that day and I can assure you that it was extremely high! More than its effectiveness on the flat sections where we know that his aerodynamics does wonder, it is the way in which he swallowed the bump of almost two 9 % terminals that marked me: he rose faster than Pogacar when it is, there, the famous Watts ratio per kilo which is huge. It says a lot. It is always very difficult to assert with an absolute certainty but I have the feeling that Remco is, no doubt, stronger than ever in the time. “
A hegemony which almost comes to discourage part of the possible national competition. “”For having discussed it with Wout Van Aert, I know that he chose to ignore this Friday’s appointment and stay a little longer at altitude in Tignes because it was aware that it would be very complicated to beat the Brabançon on a course like that of Brasschaat, continue le coach de Belgian Cycling. The 40.2 -kilometer layout is extremely flat and made up of only six real turns. So it will go very fast (Editor’s note: more than 60 km/h in places according to the organizers) !”
“A good barometer for the World and Euro”
If Evenepoel is an absolute favorite for the gain of a second tricolor jersey of Belgian champion of time trial (after 2022), the fight for the other two places on the podium promises to be much more open. “”For me, it will be an excellent barometer with a view to the selections I will have to do for the World Cup and the EuroContinuous Pauwels. The times are now rare in a season and each test is therefore always rich in lessons on the level of each. Florian Vermeersch, for example, well worked on the time trial of the Tour of Belgium (third) But the route was only 9.7 km long and it only agreed with his second exercise of the year after that delivered on the UAE Tour (ninth over 12.2 km). From Secret (Editor’s note: silver medalist from the two Belgian championships) has only played one time this year (seventh from that of the Tour of Belgium). I am therefore curious to see them at work on the 40.2 terminals on the Brasschaat menu and the thing also applies to Rune Herregodts and Ilan Van Wilder. “
Remco wants to compete in the Euro of time.
Services that could therefore be decisive in the perspective of the Kigali world championship and the Euro in Drôme-Ardèche. “”As Evenepoel is reigning world champion, Belgium can align three runners in the time trial in Africa and we intend to enjoy its tickets, specifies the national coach. For the European championships, I can select two runners. We initially thought that Remco would ignore it on the trial event since it is argued only three days after the World Cup race (Sunday 28/9 and Wednesday 1/10) And that it will be necessary to travel from Rwanda to France but his participation is now a real option because he wants to make this time. Nothing is acquired with certainty but if a runner of the scale of the world champion of the specialty manifests such a wish, I consider the logic to support him. It is true that if it arrives at the top of his condition for the end of September, the world and European championships are so close that he would then be offered four real titles opportunities (online races and chronos of the two championships). And as he is not the type to let the opportunities spin (laughs)…”
