Remco Evenepoel on steep climbs: "I think if I'm in top shape, 110 percent, I should be able to survive those hurdles more easily"

After a second place in the overall of Volta a Comunitat Valenciana, Remco Evenepoel left Spain with good spirits however his difficulty over steep climb showed once more.

On the opening stage of the race he took a dominant win in the climb to Torralba del Pinar but when it comes to longer and steeper climbs the Belgian doesn't have the same capacity to go with the best, he remains however positive about it:

"Steep slopes like Friday's, that's still a question mark. When did I fail? In Portugal two years ago when we arrived at Malhão in the Tour of the Algarve which I won," he said in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad.

“We still have to work on those climbs, because you get those too in the Basque Country, Flèche Wallone and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I think if I'm in top shape, 110 percent, I should be able to survive those hurdles more easily," he said.

It is still early in his career to know if it's actually a point that needs to be worked on, having thrived in climbs like San Sebastian's Alto de Murgil, Algarve's Malhão or Pologne's Bukowina. However it has to be said that there is a small trend where he struggles on longer mountainous days, such as the Giro, Olympics or Il Lombardia last year.