Evenepoel drops teammates in brutal training session before World Championships

"On our way to Sankt Moritz today," begins Vocsnor as he rides. "With the usual suspect Remco (Evenepoel, ed.), double Olympic..." At that point, the newly crowned time trial world champion jumps in. "I’m about to fall through the ice, guys," laughs Evenepoel. "Enough with milking Evenepoel, eh," interrupts De Plus. Campenaerts quickly plays along with the joke.

"Now we’re targeting... Mister international, my buddy Laurens De Plus," Campenaerts says, switching to English to chat with Plusky. Soon after, we see coach Vanthourenhout, the fourth member of the ride. "Our special guest, who’s slowing down traffic by hanging onto the car," someone jokes. "Discussing tactics, Victor," Vanthourenhout fires back with a grin.

A little later, it’s just De Plus riding next to Campenaerts. When the camera pans ahead, we see Evenepoel pulling away on a climb. "There’s Remco, you can see him up there. We’ve been dropped," says a breathless Vocsnor. "He’s flying uphill, mate," De Plus concluded.

There’s no doubt the Belgian team is in high spirits as they prepare for Sunday’s road race. In Zurich, Evenepoel will be going for his second rainbow jersey, following his 2022 victory in Wollongong. Winning a world championship in Switzerland is something Johan Museeuw did back in 1996 when he out-sprinted local favorite Mauro Gianetti. Museeuw’s victory was also preceded by a grueling training session.

Back then, Museeuw completed a marathon ride to Sankt Moritz as part of his preparations, and just days later, he claimed the rainbow jersey. The Belgian team hasn’t forgotten that legendary ride! In 2024, they’ve followed suit, logging over 200 kilometers through Switzerland’s mid-mountains as they gear up for the race.