The figures behind the mini-Tour of Evenepoel towards Vuelta: "It may be that Remco comes still a few percentages up short in San Sebastian"
It will soon be Remco Evenepoel (22) serious for the Tour of Spain. He turned his past altitude training in Livigno into a mini Tour de France. Quick Step Alpha Vinyl trainer Koen Pelgrim tells the story behind the Strava numbers. “The internship was completely focused on volume. We wanted to lay a foundation for Vuelta.”
What Remco Evenepoel has done during the Tour de France? So trained hard. On Strava, he gave a full look at his training program at altitude training in Livigno for the past nineteen days. Or sooner in Trepalle, because an altitude internship can never be high enough.
“We were at a hotel in Livigno with the team, at 1,750 meters,” says Quick-Step trainer Koen Pelgrim. “But Remco has booked a hotel himself in Trepalle, another 500 meters higher. That creates an extra height effect.”
If you add up all the figures from the training sessions, it seems as if Evenepoel has ridden a small Tour de France or Giro. “The starting point of the internship was also to work mainly on volume, to lay a foundation for the Vuelta,” says Pelgrim. “But the comparison with a Grand Tour is not really valid. In altimeters and hours on the bike you come close, but the intensity is of course much lower. The focus is on endurance training. If you compare Remco's average heart rates to those of the riders in the Tour, there would be a big difference.”
Ideal conditions
There is indeed no shortage of long training sessions: Evenepoel was on the bike for more than six hours up to four times. Training days ten and nineteen took the cake, with rides of 6 hours 59 minutes. “The conditions were also ideal,” says Pelgrim. “We were able to do everything that was planned. In the summer the weather is perfect in Livigno and you can train very varied there: you have the valley along the lake, ideal for the quieter work in the first days. Or you can go to Bormio or Tirano.”
85 hours on the bike, that could be mentally tough, but Pelgrim puts it into perspective: “The effort-relaxation ratio was well balanced. Remco stayed a bit longer than the rest of the team, but most days he was able to train in group, which is always more pleasant. In Livigno you can really relax: go for a walk, have a drink… You are not isolated. Remco's girlfriend also came by last week."
And we see that on Strava too: on July 16, a walk to 2,435 meters is planned: 'Avec l'amour'. On day seventeen, Evenepoel and fiancé Oumi Rayane also cycle 56 kilometers along the lake. “We give riders the freedom to stay in the team's hotel,” said Pelgrim, “but they can also book something nearby for themselves. During this period, many riders want to train hard, without being away from the family for another three weeks. That way you can combine the internship with the family. You stay on your own, but in the team hotel you do have mechanics and caretakers available.”
Also team time trial
The internship in Livigno was the first step for Evenepoel in the preparation for the Vuelta. “Without the really specific work”, says Pelgrim, but it can be deduced from the Strava data that at least one specific part has already been planed. On day nine, the training is marked 'TTT', the English abbreviation for Team Time Trial, or team time trial. After all, on August 19, the Vuelta starts with that discipline in Utrecht. “We now had a lot of the guys for the Vuelta together,” explains Pelgrim. “So it was an ideal time to practice the technique again. How are you in the wheel? How do you get off the head? A team time trial has become so rare that many guys would like to refresh it.”
In preparation for the Vuelta, Evenepoel will soon drive few competitions. No Tour of Burgos for example, only the Clasica San Sebastian this weekend. It is one of the lessons after the Tour of Switzerland, where Evenepoel had raced a lot before. “Switzerland has made it clear that Remco has to start as fresh as possible,” says Pelgrim.
Early in Spain
It is certain that Evenepoel will spend his last training weeks before the Vuelta in Spain, so that he cannot be surprised by the heat. The transition from the relatively cold Tour of Norway to the hot Tour de Suisse caused some problems earlier this season.
Evenepoel will have his only race kilometers this Saturday in the Clasica San Sebastian, the race he won in a masterly way in 2019. Whether the intensive training internship there is already bearing fruit? “That's possible”, concludes trainer Pelgrim. “But the stage has been built up towards the Vuelta and not towards San Sebastian. It is therefore possible that he is still a few percent short due to the low-intensity work. On the other hand: a Remco at 95 percent can of course also win a race.”