"The balance between explosiveness and longer efforts..." - Remco Evenepoel's necessary changes as said by Belgian national coach Serge Pauwels

Remco Evenepoel has had a roller-coaster of a first part of the season, but it didn't end anywhere near the terms he hoped for at the UAE Tour. In what were his first long climbing efforts of the season in race, he struggled against a world-class field. Belgian national coach Serge Pauwels believes that the Volta a Catalunya will be a key test to understand where he stands and if Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe know what they have to change in order to get the best out of the Olympic Champion.

“I watched his start to the season with admiration. We have to admit that, especially in the Challenge Mallorca, the field wasn't top-tier, but I stick to the motto: just win a race," Pauwels said in an interview with Wielerflits. "He did that not once, but seven times in total. That's sublime, even if it's at a different level than the UAE Tour of Catalunya. It was also clear that he was very comfortable with the new team.”

Pauwels, who was at the helm during last year's superb World and European Championships run of Evenepoel, knows the prodigy quite well and is aware that naturally Evenepoel is not a pure climbing talent like many of his peers, but more of a specialist on shorter climbs.

"For Remco, it is and remains a challenge to combine the longer efforts of the stages with the more explosive, 'punchy' finishes. That's anything but self-evident, especially because he's probably closer to those explosive types by nature and can also better utilize his aerodynamics on the flat. I think he still needs to find that balance".

The quality on the high mountains comes out of specific preparation work and weight loss, a route commonly used towards the Grand Tours where the overall classification is always decided in the tougher mountain stages.

At the UAE Tour, he still lacked this body of work beforehand, he believes. "That's the most logical explanation. In the UAE Tour, he can't do what he wants on the longer climbs, but he still wins the short ten-minute time trial there by a wide margin. That proves that he wasn't suddenly in much worse shape in that Tour than in the previous weeks. But the balance between explosiveness and longer efforts tilted too much toward the former".

In the past, Evenepoel has won the 2022 Vuelta a España and has also finished third at the 2024 Tour de France, where his level in the long climbs was perhaps the best its ever been. Whilst it is possible to achieve this, he does not do so often. But after the UAE Tour, the Belgian has finally gone to altitude training on Mount Teide, which should improve his ability to do the long uphill efforts.

"They need to make adjustments there, based on his main goals. First of all, the Ardennes Classics are coming up, where I expect him to perform well. Of course, I don't know exactly how he's training, but I think the team has made some adjustments," he added.

During Catalunya and the Ardennes there will be vastly different efforts, which means there must've also been a decision to make whilst in Teide. "I've let him rest a bit, but I hear from his entourage that they believe we'll see a better version of himself in Catalunya than in the UAE Tour."

However, after a few weeks away from the spotlight and with quality work, we could see the best version of Evenepoel return. This was the case in the post-Tour de France period last year, after Evenepoel's departure to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe was confirmed.

"The fact that he's been able to relax in Spain isn't bad for Remco. He's someone who always bounces back well from a period 'on his mountain', Pauwels believes. "That was also the case last year towards the World Championships. He's away from all the hustle and bustle for a while and can focus well. That's what he's really good at."