“Trying to get his weight down was a huge task” - Remco Evenepoel’s own trainer says weight remains key against Pogacar, Del Toro and Seixas
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel’s weight was already under scrutiny after Il Lombardia. Now his own trainer has confirmed just how much work went into getting the Belgian down to his Tour de France shape, and why that remains a major focus heading towards 2027.
Jose De Cauwer argued after Evenepoel’s fourth place in Lombardia that “every extra kilogram is one too many” on climbs such as Civiglio, describing weight control as a recurring challenge for the Belgian. Tim Heemskerk, who works directly with Evenepoel, has now given the view from inside his preparation.
In the spring, carrying a little more weight is not necessarily a problem. The demands change once the focus turns towards the Grand Tours, and particularly the Tour, where Evenepoel worked through a significant drop in weight after the Classics.
“Trying to get his weight down after the Classics campaign was a huge task, but he handled it very well and clearly benefited from it in the Tour,” Heemskerk told HLN.
Evenepoel in action at Il Lombardia 2026
Pogacar, Del Toro and Seixas raise the bar
“That has also been a lesson and an area to work on with next year in mind,” Heemskerk said. “If you want to compete in this generation against absolute top riders like Pogacar, but also Del Toro, Seixas and the rest, you have to be absolutely spot on in that area.”
Evenepoel’s Tour build was deliberately different from the one he carried through the spring, and Heemskerk does not expect him to sit at the same weight all season. The challenge is getting that progression right again when the focus shifts towards July.
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“Sometimes less is more”
Weight is not the only part of Evenepoel’s preparation Heemskerk is trying to fine-tune. The Belgian’s appetite for training can sometimes leave his coach trying to hold him back rather than asking for more.
“Remco is a training animal, and I have huge respect for everything he does,” he said. “But sometimes less is more. When he feels good, he can sometimes ride harder than he should during a VO2 max session.”
That has led to some very direct conversations between rider and coach. “I’ve spoken to him about it a few times. ‘If the session says 450 watts, you don’t need to start pushing 500 or 600. Otherwise you’re systematically training in a different way.’ He has taken that on board well, though.”
For Heemskerk, the work towards 2027 is therefore not simply about asking more of Evenepoel. It is about getting him lighter at the right moment of the season while also making sure a 450-watt training session remains a 450-watt training session.
This is the version I’d publish. It keeps the useful depth, removes the two places where we were explaining Heemskerk back to the reader, and the final line now closes on something concrete from the interview rather than summarising the article in editorial language.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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