In the Skybar of the Hotel Suitopia in Calpe, journalists cautiously asked themselves the question: how much collateral damage is there within Soudal Quick-Step after all the rumors about a merger with Jumbo-Visma? Does Remco Evenepoel feel like a missed opportunity? Do the comrades have the perception that the leader wanted to disappoint them?
“This is no longer an issue at the moment,” says Evenepoel. “Obviously it was difficult, but now everyone is looking forward to next season. Everyone is ready to endure fire for each other. I was also involved in the story. It’s not something I wanted or asked for myself. I just had to follow everything. When it finally fell apart, I didn’t care at all. I am here with great pleasure and a lot of motivation. It’s been a bumpy ride for our team, but now we’re looking forward.”
The persistent rumors, first about a transfer to Ineos and then about merger rumors, had their weight. “After abandoning the Giro due to Covid, everything got a bit crazy. I have to admit that I listened to those stories too much. So I lost some of my self-esteem. I was surprised by the quality of the execution of some details of the outside world. Things that often weren’t even right.”
Evenepoel on the canceled merger: “It has been a bumpy ride for our team, but now we look forward.” — © Getty Images
Extra holiday
The remedy: a longer winter break which turned out to be very beneficial: “I took two extra weeks off. I started again at the end of November, but I also stopped on October 15th. The rest did me good, I was able to forget everything. First a holiday in the United States, albeit with wind tunnel testing at Specialized. Then I had a week’s holiday in Belgium and then I came to Spain by car with my wife. Overall it was a very pleasant rest.”
“I have an energy that I haven’t felt in a long time. Knowing that I will finally go to the Tour motivates me to do everything one hundred percent in my training and my diet.”
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal Quick-Step
At this moment Evenepoel feels well again. This is demonstrated by the Strava files of his training, during which he set, among other things, the climbing record on the Coll de Rates. “That rest period did little miracles for my body,” he says. “I can try the bike again. I have an energy that I haven’t felt in a long time. Knowing that I will finally go to the Tour motivates me to do everything 100% in my training and diet.”
Click on Landa
The team has moved even more decisively towards the Tour team in 2024. There is a new COO in Jurgen Foré, a new aerodynamics specialist in Callum McQueen and a new mechanic in Dario Kloeck. The latter is also Evenepoel’s cousin and good friend. “If you want to fight against the UAE and the Jumbos, everyone has to perform at the highest level,” he says. It is necessary to get to the level of those teams, but we are doing well in this.”
In consultation with COO Jurgen Foré. — © Getty Images
Evenepoel’s main asset is obviously Mikel Landa, the Spaniard who will have to become the last man up the Tour. “We talked a lot during the team’s days in Turnhout,” says Evenepoel. “We clicked immediately. I have the impression that things will work well between us.”
2024-01-09 20:40:29
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