Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team are heading to Liège-Bastogne-Liège with Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel leading in, and the Belgian talent has talked about his ambitions and what role he can play in the team's strategy.
"Liège suits me better than Flèche Wallonne. One and a half hour of racing more, more altitude metres, longer climbs, less recuperation moments. We have two leaders. I'll get my chance tomorrow," Evenepoel told Het Nieuwsblad on the eve of the fourth monument of the season. After missing out on contention for Flèche Wallone - with Julian Alaphilippe finishing fourth - the duo have refocused on Liège-Bastogne-Liége, the final step in their spring campaign.
"I've learnt a lot about positioning. People often said I couldn't steer, but in Flèche Wallonne I was always in the first 30 riders of the bunch, also on the chaotic moments. I've made huge steps on that matter," he added.
In the spring classics that is an important skill to have, however many times these two classics are decided in very specific moments. Evenepoel will be hoping to calculate his efforts to perfection for the win tomorrow: "Winning a Monument is definitely a big goal in my career, especially Liège and Lombardia. The others suit me less and I'm also less motivated for those races. It doesn't necessarily have to be this year of course."
With wins at the Volta a Valencia, Volta ao Algarve and a strong performance at the Itzulia Basque Country recently, Evenepoel is riding according to expectations. However he mentions that he knows more is expected from him, in which he says: "I won youth GC at Itzulia but few people talked about it. They expect big things from me, but you can't say what I do isn't good, comparing me to other riders at the age of 22. All went fast for me, maybe that's why they expect more."