'Exactly as planned' - Evenepoel delivers statement of intent in Mallorca

Evenepoel’s first outing as a Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider on Thursday had seen him power his new teammates to victory in the Trofeo Ses Salines team time trial. On Friday, Evenepoel showcased his ability as a solo act by burning the race off his wheel on the Coll de Sóler. 

Third-placed Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) summed up the peloton’s resignation when he reached the finish. “It’s the new cycling. When you have Remco or Tadej in the race, you never expect where they will attack,” he said.

Even so, there was nothing off the cuff about Evenepoel’s victory here. The Belgian followed a clear plan by setting his Red Bull squad to work ahead of the Sóler before he unleashed his winning effort on the 8km climb. He would hammer home his advantage in the valley that followed and he cruised over the final ascent of the Batalla to win by 1:38 from António Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

“We knew that the wind direction was going to play quite a role today,” Evenepoel told Eurosport. “We had a plan to go for it there [on the Sóler] because everybody knows it goes up quite steep in the beginning. Once you hit the forest, it’s one corner after another, so it’s really difficult to sit in the wheel. 

“We wanted to make it as hard as possible as soon as possible, then hit the front in the descent and keep the effort going. It feels amazing to finish the plan exactly how we discussed it. I feel really satisfied, it’s very good to start like this.”

Evenepoel’s victory never looked in doubt from the moment he dialled up the heat on the Sóler, and the long section of flat road that followed was tailored to his gifts as a rouleur.

“It was quite long, I have to say, especially the flat part of about 30k, but luckily the wind was at my back, so I arrived a bit faster to the final climb,” he said. “I just tried to push as hard as possible on the first half of the climb. After that, it was a bit easier so I could slow down a little bit. But in general, it was exactly how we discussed and planned the race this morning.”

This marks the third year in a row that Evenepoel has won his first road race of the season, though the circumstances are very different to 2025, when injury delayed the start of his campaign to Brabantse Pijl in mid-April.

“I really like to win early in the in the season and feel good early in the season, especially after last year,” said Evenepoel, who was initially slated to line out only in the team time trial in Mallorca. 

“It’s great to win another road race, it took me quite some time to win one again. I’m happy I could open my account with my new team pretty early. It shows we worked well in the winter and everything is going in a good direction so far.”

Bigger challenges await for Evenepoel this season, from the UAE Tour next month to the Tour de France in July. Before all that, he will race again in Mallorca on Saturday, when he takes on the Trofeo Andratx. On this evidence, he isn’t there to make up the numbers. 

“They say there’s never two without three,” Evenepoel told Het Laatste Nieuws. “We’re going for it.”