Evenepoel’s Performance Improvements: Small Tweaks, Big Results
Updated January 11, 2026 01:26PM
Remco Evenepoel has grown into one of the strongest riders in the sport, with outstanding road results plus a time trial palmares unmatched by anyone in recent decades.
That’s due in part too heart and lungs, of course, to a big physiological engine and also a laser-focused drive for success.
But there are subtle tweaks too,positional modifications that he has made in recent seasons which have helped him get the very best out of himself and helped the rise of the sport’s Belgian Bullet.
Evenepoel gave a captivating insight into these precise bike fit changes, revealing what he did, why he did it and, most importantly of all, how it helped.
‘It can kill your muscles a little bit’
Evenepoel has been winning world titles since he was 18 years of age, taking both the junior road race and time trial at the world championships. Since then he’s added golds in both disciplines at the elite worlds, Olympics and Europeans.
That mix of abilities in the peloton and against the clock have lead to one of the most significant tweaks in his position.
“I think the biggest change we tried to make, or kind of copy, was like to have the movement of the legs more or less the same from a TT bike to the road bike,” he said in an in-depth interview with his equipment supplier Specialized.
“That’s because, especially for the type of rider that I am, I’m riding a lot on a TT bike. In a Grand Tour, if you have a TT the day before mountain stage, it can kill your muscles a little bit.”
there are TT specialists in the peloton such as Filippo Ganna and Josh tarling who don’t need to worry too much about performing at their maximum day after day in grand tours. things are different for Evenepoel, who was third in the 2024 Tour de France and won the 2022 Vuelta a España. He has to be fully ‘on’ all the time. That can be hard to handle when he goes as deep as he does against the clock.
“[it’s hard] to ride on the TT bike half an
Remco Evenepoel continually refines his cycling position, even after years of professional analysis. The world champion understands that injuries and the evolving nature of the sport demand ongoing adjustments to maintain peak performance.
Evenepoel, a professional as 2019, undergoes position analysis several times a year. It might seem counterintuitive after so much scrutiny, but he explained why constant tweaking is necessary.
“I’ve had quite bad injuries over the years,” Evenepoel said. “That means your muscles work a bit differently after every injury. You’re getting a bit more stiff,some body parts aren’t as flexible as before. So that’s something to consider.”
Recent setbacks include being doored by a postal van in December 2024, resulting in shoulder damage, and a significant crash at the Itzulia Basque Country in April 2024.
“If I really had a bad injury, like I had last winter, and also the year before, then I really want to get checked up,” he said. ”I think it’s important to see if the shoulder is still the same in that position? Or is it cramping up, is it sitting in an unnatural position?”
He also noted the sport itself is in constant flux. “Besides that, you just see that cycling is changing a bit every year.Some riders are sitting completely differently on the bike from one year to the other.And that’s also what we tried a bit this season.”