Wearing Adidas slippers in the elevator of sky-high Spanish hotel, Remco Evenepoel proves how he is starting 2024

Earlier in the day, Evenepoel announced his program for the first part of 2024. Figueira Champions Classic, Tour of Algarve, Paris-Nice, Tour of the Basque Country, Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and then the Tour de France – that's what his first half of the season looks like. After the Tour de France, he heads to the Olympics in Paris.

His French-oriented program may be followed by the World Championships in Switzerland (both in road cycling and time trialling) and the Tour of Lombardy, but - it being early January - there hasn't been a final decision on this yet. Unsurprisingly, when you compare Evenepoel's calendar with that of, for example, Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard. He starts about a month earlier, simply because he loves racing too much to wait until March.

The racing enthusiast in him had a tough time after a 2023 full of ups and downs. COVID in the Giro, an off day (but still formidable results) in the Vuelta and a lesser Tour of Lombardy took their toll. "I took a longer break after the season, also because I had lost a bit of my self-confidence. I can be proud of my victories in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the World Time Trial Championships, but there was also a fair amount of adversity."

Add to that the pressure he's under, and it only makes sense that he would need some time to recover. "Taking that step back mentally helped me a lot. It was crucial to regain that confidence. My training is going well now, and I'm no longer easily overwhelmed by things that don't go perfectly, which saves me energy."

"I've become more mature, so I have a better idea of how to handle things," says Evenepoel, who also admits that he still lives in the moment. "My career is moving very quickly, but I try to enjoy it as much as possible. I'm still grateful to Mother Nature for the talents I've been given, which allow me to do this," he told the media, including IDLProCycling.com.

Evenepoel starts his year in Algarve. Encounters with his major Tour de France rivals will come later in the season, in Paris-Nice (Primoz Roglic), the Tour of the Basque Country (Jonas Vingegaard) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Tadej Pogacar), respectively. In the latter two races in particular, the Belgian is still somewhat uncertain of what he'll face. "I've raced against Roglic a lot, like in last year's Tour of Catalonia. We had the exact same level there. I've dropped him a few times, but he has also dropped me. I know him well by now, but I haven't raced much against Jonas and Tadej yet. So that's something new."

For Evenepoel himself, some races in the spring will also be new. "Since I'm not going to the Giro, the Amstel Gold Race is a good option to include. It's a very open race, something that should suit me well. I also find it exciting, with Paris-Nice and Amstel being added," says Evenepoel, who may complete the entire Ardennes trilogy. "The Flèche Wallonne is not certain yet, but Amstel and Liège are."

Ultimately, for Evenepoel everything in 2024 revolves around the Tour de France and the Olympic Games in Paris. "Doing the Tour and the Games in one month, that will be a very special period for me. I'm going all in on that month. I'm finally going to the Tour de France, and that provides a lot of motivation during my training. I haven't felt that kind of energy in a while."

With a series of impressive victories under his belt, he already brings some credentials to the Tour, but Evenepoel refuses to boast prematurely. "The Tour is different from other races, so we'll take it day by day. Going home with an extra achievement under my belt would already be great. The podium is a possibility, but it's difficult to predict the result. My goal is to secure a stage win. As for the general classification, I don't want to get too fixated on it, whether it's third or seventeenth position. I am mainly hoping to start in good form."

He is definitely doing that with Mikel Landa as his new key domestique by his side. "Mikel is going to be very important, to share his experience and tackle races with two leaders. He knows exactly what to do in grand tours and smaller races, and I also have a good relationship with him. That makes everything a bit easier. I look forward to racing with him," concludes Evenepoel.