Red Bull aero chief says Evenepoel is the “best time trialist ever”: “Always willing to try new things”

Evenepoel was already widely regarded as the best time trialist in the world during his years at Soudal Quick-Step, with Olympic gold and three world time trial titles backing that up. But at Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe, he now has an extra weapon in the technical department: Dan Bigham, the team’s Head of Engineering, tasked with pushing the Belgian closer to perfection.

'He's a great guy,' Bigham tells Het Nieuwsblad. “Open-minded, progressive in his thinking, and motivated. When you’re testing with him in the wind tunnel, he’s always willing to try new things. Sometimes you run into riders who are the exact opposite, and that’s frustrating. As an engineer, you’re always trying to shift the limits a little bit, and Remco moves in the right direction with you. It’s a joy.”

For the Brit, himself a former top-level time trialist and track rider, working with Evenepoel is a privilege. You rarely come across talent like this — but what stands out just as much, says Bigham, is Evenepoel’s ability to adapt. In Bigham’s view, there has never been anyone quite like him.

“If you keep doing the same thing, you just end up stuck in place,” he explained. “Throughout his career he’s gradually adjusted things, and that’s why he’s kept improving. For me, Remco is the best time trialist in the world — probably even the best ever. I don’t know anyone in the peloton who is as aerodynamic as he is. That’s genuinely impressive, especially when you see how much power he can produce in that position.”

There have been changes since Evenepoel’s transfer — including on the technical side. “A few small things, yes,” Bigham said. “First of all, clothing and the groupset. SRAM offers many advantages: we can choose from around twenty chainring options and five cassette types. That way we can pick the optimal set-up for every race.”

At the moment, the Belgian is riding with a bigger front chainring than he was used to. He wasn’t fully convinced at first, but Bigham managed to win him over. “He’s basically on a 68-tooth ring — the biggest we have. And it’s not just him, by the way: all the riders on our team who have ambitions to ride a strong time trial are doing it.”

Bigham previously held the UCI Hour Record, before eventually losing it to his former teammate Filippo Ganna. Could Evenepoel ever take on that challenge? “That’s not on the agenda right now,” Bigham said. “But in the future, it’s definitely a possibility. And if he ever goes for it, I can assure you: he wouldn’t just improve the record — he’d do something truly monumental.”