Remco Evenepoel did not have to make any major changes to his equipment. As with Soudal Quick-Step, for whom the Belgian made his professional debut in 2019 and rode until his switch to Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, he has Specialized equipment at his disposal. With the S-Works Tarmac SL8, the 26-year-old sits on one of the best competition bikes in the world (see TOUR test), in the battle against the clock he can fall back on the S-Works Shiv TT from the US manufacturer.
Evenepoel's work equipment, which was released by his racing team, is particularly special because of its special design. In contrast to his team-mates around Florian Lipowitz & Co, the man from East Flanders was given racing bikes in a special livery. Lumar Colors, a specialist from Italy, is responsible for this, having also painted Lipowitz's special edition last year to mark his victory in the junior classification at the Tour de France.
Premiere on the Shiv TT
Evenepoel will ride the Shiv TT for the first time in the team time trial on Mallorca (29 January, from 2 p.m.) at the start of the season for the Raubling-based racing team. The golden dropouts of the carbon fork are intended to commemorate the double Olympic victory of the "Aerobullet" in Paris in 2024. The rainbow colours for the world's current best time trialist are also a must. The flat seat tube and the inner sides of the fork blades allude to Evenepoel's serial victories in the World Championship time trial (2023, 2024, 2025).
"Thursday is an important day, but not the most important day of the season," said Evenepoel ahead of his season opener, adding: "It's no secret that we're here to prepare for the Tour de France. If we draw the right conclusions for July now, mistakes are allowed to happen. It doesn't have to be perfect at this stage." The Tour of France starts this year in Barcelona with a team time trial (4th July).
Golden details
The Specialized Tarmac is also a custom-built bike, designed to ensure that the new Red Bull star's recent successes are not forgotten. In addition to the colour-coordinated elements on the frameset, Evenepoel's team has also thought about the details: the stickers from sponsor SRAM on the brake levers, the mount for his Garmin and even the chain catcher from K-Edge are all in gold.
According to his team, it has not yet been finalised whether Evenepoel will also race his road bike, whose "bling-bling factor" is further enhanced by a gold cassette and chain, on Mallorca. Like Lipowitz, the Belgian will "probably also take part in the third race of the Challenge Mallorca". The Trofeu Serra de Tramuntana leads over 154 kilometres on Friday (30 January), including the Puig Major with a height of 935 metres.
Evenepoel is also scheduled to take part in the Trofeo Andratx-Pollença (148 kilometres) the following day, according to his team Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe announced. Both races in the 1.1 category include the 935 metre high Puig Major. Evenepoel will then contest the first World Tour race of the season with the Tour of the UAE (16 to 22 January). The following spring classics are also on his racing programme: Amstel Gold Race (19 April), Fléche Wallonne (22 April) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (26 April).
Julian Schultz
Editor
