"Having a sprint is a world of difference" - San Sebastian victory sets Evenepoel up perfectly for Glasgow World Championships according to Jose de Cauwer

For the the second straight year, Remco Evenepoel made a winning return to racing at the Clasica San Sebastian. Twelve months ago, his victory foreshadowed wins at the Vuelta a Espana and the World Championship. Jose de Cauwer believes the Belgian is perfectly positioned to do something similar in 2023.

"If you beat the fastest sprinter of all good climbers, Pello Bilbao, then that means something because in the end, going to the finish with a very tough Spaniard all seasoned and coming from the Tour, you still have to do it," De Cauwer says of Evenepoel's victory. "And fresh legs are not the same as competing with guys that have 3 weeks of the Tour in their bodies. These guys are through and through tough. Back in the days, in my time, guys like Pello, used to come out of the Tour totally wasted. That's not the case anymore. Now they are tired but totally competitive. Scientifically i never heard an explanation for this. I mean is there one? And a Basque coming from the Tour like Bilbao."

"This win will do him a lot of good in a special way," explains the Sporza analyst after Evenepoel edged out Pello Bilbao in a two-man sprint for victory. "I had the feeling that he never really had to go full. In the end, the two of them go to the finish and he still wins. He can certainly take that now. Having no sprint or having a sprint is a world of difference."

Unlike last year, the World Championship takes place before the Vuelta a Espana this year. As such big questions loom over who is best suited, riders who raced the Tour de France or those like Evenepoel who will come into the race well rested?

For the Belgian team, Evenepoel joins the likes of Wout van Aert, with de Cauwer full of confidence in his nation's ability to retain the rainbow jersey. “The other countries will put the course on our shoulders. That makes sense, because we also have the strongest team," he previews. "Of course that doesn't make it any easier. You only have to meet one strong rider."