Fresh from TT gold, Remco Evenepoel warns the Tour’s flat start won’t be easy: ‘It’ll be full throttle’

Remco Evenepoel powered to his second Belgian national time trial title on Friday, but the Soudal-QuickStep star was already looking ahead — and bracing for battle — as he warned the Tour de France will hit “full throttle right away” despite its flat start.

Just over a week before the Grand Départ in Lille, the 29-year-old put on a commanding show in Braaschaat, completing the 40.2km course in 44:43. His winning margin — 1:11 ahead of Florian Vermeersch — confirmed not only his supremacy on the day but his readiness for the brutal three-week race ahead.

“This is the last heavy block before the Tour,” Evenepoel told Sporza, adding that Sunday’s Belgian National Championships road race — a gruelling 230km around hilly Binche — will mark the final tune-up. “It started well,” he smiled, referencing his crushing TT performance.

Draped in his new gold-and-black national champion’s jersey, Evenepoel sounded composed but realistic. The first week of the Tour may favour sprinters like teammate Tim Merlier, but Remco doesn’t expect a quiet ride.

“Luckily, the first week is pretty flat and I can maybe use that to build up a bit,” he said. “But with the predicted weather and wind, it will be full throttle right away. The Tour only starts in the second week for the GC contenders, but that doesn’t make the first week any less important.”

The Olympic and world time trial champion says his main focus now is staying out of trouble. “I just have to trust that everything will be fine,” he added.

Evenepoel’s win in Braaschaat marked his 20th time trial victory as a pro and came just weeks after a confidence-boosting Critérium du Dauphiné, where he finished third overall behind Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič. With Tadej Pogačar also returning to full strength, the Tour GC fight is shaping up as a modern classic — and Evenepoel believes he’s ready.

He credited a disciplined pacing strategy for his latest victory. “It was a time trial where you had to keep pushing and could hardly recover,” he explained. “I mainly had to stay tight on my pace and use the intermediate times. I was able to hold that well.”

At the final checkpoint, Evenepoel led by 26 seconds, then extended his gap with every kilometre. His closest Belgian rival, Alec Segaert, posed a late challenge, but Evenepoel responded: “I didn’t want to risk anything. I still accelerated to make sure I stayed ahead.”

Now comes the road race on Sunday, where Evenepoel will join forces with Merlier, Yves Lampaert, and Ilan Van Wilder in a bid to reclaim the national title won last year by Arnaud De Lie.

“It’s going to be hot,” he said of the Binche course. “That might play in our favour. We have a lot of spearheads and we’re in good shape. The most important thing is to get the jersey back in our team.”

Evenepoel’s win was another key step in his methodical buildup to cycling’s biggest stage. While some GC contenders may wait for the mountain tests, the Belgian isn’t underestimating a single day.

“I’m happy with the feeling and the result,” he said. “After the training camp, everything is fine.”