Evenepoel highlights key changes with Red Bull - 'Starting efforts already'
Remco Evenepoel has highlighted improved team communication as a key difference since joining Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, while also revealing details about training with his new coach, Dan Lorang, his aerodynamic work with Dan Bigham, and confirming interest in a future Hour Record attempt.
"For the moment, I'm very happy with how things are going. Communication is very good in this team, so that's a very big change as well. We actually speak about everything, and it's really impressive. It's those things I was really looking for, and I'm happy to find it here," Evenepoel said when asked about his early experiences with the German squad at the team’s media day in Spain on Wednesday.
The Belgian star has already spent some time testing his time trial set-up with aerodynamics expert Dan Bigham at Specialized's Win Tunnel in the United States.
"I knew who he was briefly, but now we've been in the US for four or five days at the Specialized Win Tunnel. It's impressive to see how organised these guys are," Evenepoel explained. "It's very good for guys that those guys are willing to test everything, so we win a lot of time with it in the season, as we don’t have to go to every tunnel every two to three months to test some of their stuff.
Evenepoel was particularly impressed with Bigham's detailed and organised approach, "For example, I've done like 50 runs in the tunnel a few months ago, and they had everything prepared for me. So I went in, came out, something new, in, out… For me, it's really easy to have such a structured plan with them."
When asked if he would be interested in attempting the Hour Record, something which Bigham himself set at 55.548km in August 2022 before helping Filippo Ganna break it with 56.792km two months later, Evenepoel confirmed his interest, "Of course, yes at some point."
Evenepoel’s race schedule for 2026 was announced on Wednesday, and his first race with his new team will be the Team Time Trial (TTT) at the Mallorca Challenge, providing an early opportunity to work with his teammates in the discipline. This experience could prove valuable with the 2026 Tour de France set to begin with a 19.7km TTT in Barcelona.
"It's very special to have the first race day of the year as a TTT. I think I might have to recover from it for two or three weeks, but we'll see how it goes, of course, but it's a very nice opportunity for all of the teams to come here and test," he said.
The move to Red Bull has also meant a change in coaches, with Evenepoel now working with Dan Lorang after parting ways with long-time coach Koen Pelgrim, who had been with him since 2018. Evenepoel highlighted one of the key differences in his early preparations ahead of the new season.
"It was quite a big change, I think everything is going well for the moment. The biggest difference is that we are starting with some efforts already in the second week, especially the third week, whereas before, I used to ride for a month, just riding. But now, we try to open the volume straight away," Evenepoel revealed.
Despite the changes, he maintains plenty of respect for his previous coach, Pelgrim, and acknowledged that sometimes a change can be good as an opportunity to develop further as a rider.
"I've had really good years with Koen, a lot of very nice moments and victories, that are mostly thanks to him. Now it's time for a new chapter, a new coach, and hopefully a better rider."
