Remco Evenepoel will count on the help of Julian Alaphilippe for Sunday’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Evenepoel, who impressively won the Ardennes Monument last year, has been training at altitude in recent weeks. On the flanks of the volcano El Teide, on the Spanish island of Tenerife, the Soudal Quick-Step rider completed the necessary training kilometers with the mind set to the Giro d’Italia.
Evenepoel last competed at the Volta a Catalunya, where he finished second behind Primoz Roglic in the general classification.
Evenepoel’s biggest challenger in the battle of Liege defence on Sunday will be Tadej Pogacar, who was dominant this spring.
The World Champion will be joined for the 258.5km race that will take on ten climbs, including La Redoute and Côte de la Roche aux Faucons, by Julian Alaphilippe, who is back after the crash in Tour of Flanders – Andrea Bagioli, Mauro Schmid, Pieter Serry, Ilan Van Wilder and Louis Vervaeke.
“Liege–Bastogne–Liege was special last season”, said Evenepoel. “I came at the start without too many expectations, but we had a plan – and that was to go for the win – which we executed perfectly. For sure, the crash in the bunch that took out two of my teammates wasn’t ideal for us, but we found a way to handle that stressful moment and we remained focused on our goal. That victory was the biggest of my career at that point, a moment I’ll never forget”.
