The recent exploit by Remco Evenepoel, who conquered third place at the Tour de France e Olympic gold time trial a few days later, deserves to be celebrated even more than it was. The Belgian champion has accustomed us to good performances, but these performances go beyond what we have seen so far. and consecrate him among the greats. The name of evenepoel He has been involved in cycling for a long time and rose to prominence as a junior. In fact, he was the athlete who opened the hunt for young people, a frantic search that has brought many to light, but obscured just as many. And Alessandro Fancellu knows this well.
The two had a similar path until the end of 2018, their last year as juniors (the opening photo is of the podium at the world championships in Innsbruck that year). Then from there on our paths diverged. Time Fancellu has found continuity thanks to the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team after difficult years full of stops and physical problems. The young Lombard is preparing for a busy end to the season to carve out the space he wants and can deserve.
The gold rush
As a junior, Fancellu often clashed with the Belgian and in 2018 the confrontations were repeated and tense, from the Giro della Lunigiana in which Evenepoel won all stages except one and then to the European and World ChampionshipsWhat does the climber from Como remember about Evenepoel?
«What Evenepoel is doing now – says Fancellu, who is currently in training camp in Sestriere to prepare for the end of the season – is not a surprise. Already as a junior, when he came to the competitions, you could see that he was doing a different sport than us.I remember that at the European Championships he had attacked after a few kilometers and reached the finish line alone. The delay of the second rider? Almost ten minutes. (9'44” on the Swiss Balmer, ed.). He started alone and was only seen again at the finish, an incredible number. The best move I've seen him do live was the one at the World Championships in Innsbruck.He had fallen and was two minutes behind, he caught us and gave us another two."
Hungry look
Evenepoel's face, thin and increasingly defined, hides in his eyes an incredible and unmatched hunger for victory. He has a fire inside him that always pushes him to take a step forward., seeking victory and spectacle. No matter how far the finish line.
"He's always had this distinctive trait," Fancellu explains. "I remember that at the 2018 Giro della Lunigiana, he lost the time trial in the second half-stage. He lost a second to Karel Vacek. The next day he showed up at the start of the stage with his eyes on fireWith 50 kilometers to go, he took off and we didn't see him again, even though we were pushing hard behind him to close the gap. The same actions he repeated at Liège, in both victories obtained and at the Classica San SebastiánHe doesn't care how far he is, he attacks and gets everyone out of his way. At Liège last year Pidcock had initially stayed with him, but then paid the price. Following him is impossible. He is capable of traveling 50, 60 or 70 kilometers alone at impossible speeds, a characteristic that makes him a exceptional time trialist».
Extreme gestures
We knew Evenepoel when he was perhaps a young man, when every victory was followed by a clear celebration. It was almost annoying for those who associate cycling with shyness and humility.
"Sometimes he comes across as arrogant, and he's been like that in the past," Fancellu continues, "but that doesn't reflect reality. He doesn't like losing, and we understood that right away. At the Tour it will have been happy with the podium, but don't think he'll be satisfiedHis arrogant streak never matched the person he was. I spoke to him, and he didn't give me that impression. I would use the term exuberant, on the other hand, when you have such obvious power you feel like doing everything."
Physical changes
Physically, the former world champion from Wollongong seems to have never changed. His biggest transformation came with his participation in the recent Tour de France, before which he has I've cut down on weight a lot.
"When he was a junior," Fancellu recalls, "he had a much more developed physique. He had come from football and was muscularly different; his body was more pronounced. Over the years his physique has undergone changes that have led him to be what he is now.At Lunigiana, I watched him and saw two big, enormous legs. He was indeed strong, but on the short climbs he was still playable. On the slight slopes, however, with a bit of headwind, you never caught him. And luckily at the time (in 2018, ed.) the juniors still had the gear lock.Otherwise, he would have dominated the races even more. On the flat, at 50 miles an hour, he was forced to stop; he couldn't go any faster. With free gears, he would have put the 54×11 and we would have seen him again only once we crossed the finish lineEvenepoel has always had the hallmarks of a champion, as has his mentality."
