"I can still improve" - Remco Evenepoel sends a warning to his competition ahead of the Zurich road race
Cycling
Olympic-Worlds Double Double. It has a nice sound to it. Remco Evenepoel is the man up for the task this year. After dominating in Paris, the 24-year-old Belgian came undefeated from the Zurich time trial too, successfully defending his rainbow jersey. Now there's only one race between him and a big note in cycling history books.
"It takes away a bit of pressure, let’s say," Evenepoel said at a press conference after his time trial victory. "Winning this jersey again is going to allow me to live a little bit more relaxed towards next Sunday. I’m pretty confident. My legs are there, that’s clear."
The Belgian is convinced we're yet to see the best of him in Zurich: "I can still improve a bit towards next Sunday, like I did in the Olympics as well. I’ll just try to live next week as relaxed as possible and in a good way, trying to take care of my body, and then everything should be fine. I should hopefully be ready for a good performance again next Sunday."
Course
"I think it’s a bit between a bit of a light version of Lombardia and Liège, it’s a mix of that," Evenepoel shared his thoughts of the road race parcours. "Of course, the riders who are a bit lighter have a small advantage, but also the Classics guys can survive if they have good days. We might expect a very special race that can go in multiple directions."
Contrary to what some may have expected, the circuit in Zurich doesn't appear to be as intimidating and therefore Mathieu van der Poel has serious chance for a double. For Remco, his best card would be to ride away at some point. "I think for me it’s clear. I need to stay focused and not lose too much energy in the start and then try to find a good moment to go – or else have the legs to go with the big names when they go," Evenepoel said.
"It might go in multiple directions – there might be a guy alone, we might go with two or three to the finish, we might go with a group of ten to the finish. It can really go in every direction. I didn’t see the local lap yet, but we will do some recons during next week. I hope for a long and tough race, of course, like Paris," he concludes.
One thing that will be different from Paris and that won't play in Evenepoel's advantage however will be team sizes. While the strongest nations at the Olympics could select a maximum of four riders, in Zurich, lineups of up to eight riders can be sent. Evenepoel, who likes to arrive solo, could struggle to create difference against the numbers of other nations on the hilly circuit.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I see (elsewhere) that Alaphilippe had more to say than what got relayed in this stub. Me: he was very good early but his latter third trajectory was the pits. His old boss did what he could (huffed and puffed) but Julian couldn't get his greatness back. Sometimes I wonder if crashes that didn't look like much changed the course of the rider.flyer14-11-2026
- I wouldn't classify it as a gift because the nasty consequences of taking it from Sepp would have been great and would persist and he knew it.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. Tratnik's good and Red Bull's better so Tratnik may get what he wants.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. So just saying he wasn't enjoying racing anymore is some kind of explanation? Me saying I don't enjoy his explanation is more explaining than he did.flyer14-11-2026
- Buitrago, was he their best rider in 2026? He's the chief loss for them and Martinez and Tiberi (especially) have to step up or they will be overtaken by Bahrain's younger riders like Omrzel. I'm still somewhat high on Martinez but Tiberi, after showing signs of promise, has fizzled. Bahrain still has a good team but they need to improve and exceed expectations. I'd be happy if Mohoric could manage to return to his better form for maybe one last year at least.flyer14-11-2026
- Hmmm, "... I just gained 30 seconds purely off the bike. Because it's really a big, big improvement compared to the previous bike". Is that marketing for Specialized or serious valid hype, or something in between? Very likely the former.flyer14-11-2026
- Nothing revelatory or controversial. Why do we have to report on Bruyneel's or Armstrong's thinking. It's a shame and enough that the Move's on TV and that people watch it .flyer14-11-2026
- Makes sense that training from home is a big asset or advantage but it's still remarkable that he can put in three quality majors and not pay some heavy price for the exertion. I wish he would have won that tour stage that his crash while leading allowed Carapaz the win. He's a darn good rider and teammate.flyer14-11-2026
- Sounds like we all agree with the over under exaggeration: "The German’s signing does not guarantee that Evenepoel will win the Tour in 2027. "flyer14-11-2026
- Seixas appears to be that good but if he isn't (an absolute rival to Pogacar) he would have plenty of company in rising stars that did not go on to fully meet the expectations of many. That Pogacar wasn't the greatest (as great) sooner can't be transposed onto another's development. It may be not that simple.flyer14-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment