'Just imagine if I were in that train' - The Dauphiné moment that made Evenepoel crave Red Bull strength

The host asks what changes when you swap a thin mountain hand for a proper climbing unit. Evenepoel doesn’t theorise. He goes straight back to the Dauphiné, to a quiet stretch after the climbs, when the damage was done and the group was small enough to count.

“I remember a phase in the final stage of the Dauphiné in June. After a lot of climbing we came into a valley with an elite group. I looked around and there were three or four guys from Red Bull in our group. And I thought: ‘Man, I’m sitting here completely alone. And they’re riding around here with four guys.’”

For Evenepoel, it was a painful snapshot of isolation, but also a spark. He hints that he already knew what was coming months later, and that the imbalance he felt on the road quickly turned into fuel off it.

“That motivated me so much, already knowing what would happen a few months later. That evening after the stage I could think of only one thing: ‘Gosh, just imagine if I were surrounded like that. If we could start the final climb with five.’”

That thought didn’t land as comfort. It landed as a benchmark. If you want that kind of backing, you also accept what comes with it.

"I’m joining a team with guys who have an enormous palmarès, but also guys with a big future. Knowing that names like that, look for example at Primoz Roglic, will be riding next to me, motivates me to look for the best version of myself. I just have to be ready, because there is always a teammate capable of claiming my position as leader.”

Asked what it will take to close the gap to Tadej Pogacar, Evenepoel goes straight to preparation and continuity. “A good winter of preparation. That would already help a lot. Every rider knows how important those four, five months of training are. Laying the foundation and grinding out the kilometres, that’s what it’s about.” 

Then he adds, with a dark edge of humour shaped by recent experience: “My main goal is not to be hit by a postal van.”

Evenepoel will start his season with Trofeo Mallorca and the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, before a return to Catalonia in March. After a short spring block centred around Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, everything narrows towards one objective: the Tour de France in July, where his new surroundings are meant to make the difference.