'Tailor-made for me' - Evenepoel reacts to rumoured 40km time trial at Giro

Ahead of his debut season with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Remco Evenepoel has already confirmed that he and his team are weighing up two different potential schedules.

"At the moment, we have a plan A and a plan B on the table," Evenepoel had recently told Het Laatste Nieuws. "The first includes a Classics campaign, the second the Giro. Based on the Giro d'Italia route, which will be revealed soon, we'll assess things internally and we'll decide in consultation on what's feasible physically and in terms of training."

After claiming his 5th Kristallen Fiets (Crystal Bicycle), equalling Johan Museeuw's 22-year-old record as Belgium's most decorated cyclist in the prestigious national competition, Evenepoel further expanded on some details when asked about the 40km individual time trial that is reportedly set to feature in the 2026 Giro d’Italia.

"An effort of at least 45 minutes, tailor-made for me. That's already a good start, a step in the right direction," said Evenepoel to Het Laatste Nieuws after winning the Kristallen Fiets. “But we still want to wait for the official presentation on December 1st and see what else is on the menu before defining our ambitions.”

"Because if the rumours are to be believed, a gruelling final week awaits there as well. In that sense, it would be great if there were a second time trial, for example. The more, the better!”

Intriguingly, Evenepoel hasn't ruled out possible debuts at Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, with La Gazzetta dello Sport reporting that a debut in San Remo is 'likely' for the Belgian, according to their sources. Evenepoel also hasn't ruled out one-day races even in the event of a Giro-Tour double on his schedule.

"Even with a Giro-Tour combo, something is possible in terms of one-day racing, but then the margin for error is smaller. But just as long as it doesn't come at the expense of the ideal route to the Tour," Evenepoel explained.

Evenepoel made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro back in 2021, but abandoned the race in the final week. He returned in 2023, winning two individual time trials, but abandoned the race after a positive COVID-19 test on the same night of his second win.

The story will become clearer once the Giro d’Italia route presentation takes place in Rome on Monday, December 1, as to whether the Belgian star will tackle the Italian Grand Tour for the third time in his career.