Remco Evenepoel is 'shaken awake' in UAE Tour: "Reality check"

In his first race weeks for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Remco Evenepoel racked up victories, but at the UAE Tour, he hit his limits for the first time this season. For the Belgian, this is no reason to panic, but "the UAE Tour has certainly shaken me up," Evenepoel told Het Nieuwsblad ahead of the final stage.

There has been a lot said and written about Evenepoel’s poorer performance in the United Arab Emirates, but how does the 26-year-old rider himself view the past race week? "I don’t think it’s necessary to put a number on it. It was clear this wasn’t the best week, but it’s still only February," Evenepoel puts his tough moments on the climbs into perspective.

"After this, I’m definitely going to take it a bit easier for a few days. I need to recover from a hectic month, but the coming month will also be intense with a lot of training, followed by the Tour of Catalonia. I have to rebuild step by step and hopefully ride at a different level in Catalonia. But first I’ll go home for a few days; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my family."

Encouraging
Evenepoel was once again faced with the facts on the slopes of Jebel Hafeet on Saturday, although his data tells a different story. "I even rode about five seconds faster than in 2023, but now they’re simply racing even faster. It shows how high the level was last week. Overall, I’m at a better level than last year, which is a good sign and very encouraging."