Remco Evenepoel heads to Sierra Nevada training camp ahead of Giro d'Italia
22-year-old will undergo time trial testing for Giro and Olympic Games upon return to Belgium
After last week signing a five-year contract extension with his team Deceuninck-QuickStep, Remco Evenepoel has headed to Spain for an altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada ahead of his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia.
The 21-year-old is currently training at the Spanish Sports Ministry's High Performance Centre at 2,320 metres altitude alongside teammates Julian Alaphilippe and João Almeida to prepare for the Giro, which will be his first race of the season and his first since crashing out of Il Lombardia last August.
Alaphilippe will return from the camp for Amstel Gold Race next Sunday, while Almeida is expected to race next at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Evenepoel will stay until April 21 as he builds up to the Giro, which kicks off in Turin on May 8.
Evenepoel has spent the past half-year rehabilitating the fractured pelvis he suffered after crashing over a bridge into a ravine on the descent of the Muro di Sormano.
In addition to the altitude training camp, Evenepoel will undergo a time trial test session in Belgium. He'll work on fine-tuning his time trial position for the Giro and the Tokyo Olympic Games – his second major goal of the season – at the Eddy Merckx Centre in Gent, supervised by Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout.
Evenepoel secured his future with Deceuninck-QuickStep for five more years last week, signing an extension despite the team's own future not yet being certain as the deals with both title sponsors expire at the end of 2021.
"As Patrick [Lefevere] told me, this is the longest agreement he has ever signed with a rider. I'm really proud and happy to stay in this wonderful team, where I have already enjoyed a lot of success, and hopefully we can reach our big dreams," Evenepoel said.
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Lefevere, meanwhile, added that the contract was "an important step for the future, for the team".
"We're glad Remco continues with the Wolfpack, and as he said, we hope we'll enjoy many more great moments together."
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix – 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.