From 'Vankletseghem' to Knox-out and the supersherpa: how Team Evenepoel is already on point

"What a team," Remco Evenepoel wrote on his Instagram after the second stage of the Tour of the Algarve. The Belgian saw his fellow Wolves take control of the race all day in his service, but couldn't finish things off himself on the Alto de Foia. Still, satisfaction prevailed afterwards, as the team fully passed its first real test of the year. An overview.

"As a team, we have to start with our own strengths and the fact that we can tackle the race in different situations," Evenepoel said beforehand, indicating he was also thinking of Wout van Aert as a contender. Perhaps he was eyeing some help during the stage, but he was disappointed: the competition let Soudal Quick-Step do all the work.

That was also the picture we were presented with when the first broadcast images of the race appeared on TV: neo-pro Warre Vangheluwe, a Belgian from West Flanders, had the peloton in tow all day, chasing an eight-man breakaway. The fast rider on duty already hinted on his socials afterwards that there were more of these days to come, to which leader Evenepoel again responded, "Good job Vankletseghem!"

The young Belgian's job was made even more difficult by a move from Uno-X, which sent Jonas Abrahamsen and GC leader Andreas Leknessund forward towards Martin Urianstad, who was already in the lead, at around 65 kilometers from the finish. Despite this, he held on until about fifty kilometers from the finish line, when positioning in the peloton began. This task - not to be underestimated, as every team wants to be at the front - was taken on by Pieter Serry and then Louis Vervaeke.

At thirty kilometers from the finish, the peloton started the first climb of the day, the Alferce (3 kilometers at 7.1 percent). Vervaeke took charge of this climb, but even more important was the descent to the next obstacle: the Pomba climb, which is - with its 3.8 kilometers at 7.9 percent - the steepest. Mattia Cattaneo, the tattooed fast cyclist, took a decisive lead with Evenepoel in his wheel. In doing so, as he mentioned himself after the race, the Belgian stayed out of danger in the tricky conditions the entire time.

On the Pomba itself, James Knox then positioned himself at the front, while sherpa Mikel Landa handled nutrition and hydration for leader Evenepoel. The Brit managed to keep the right pace to take Cattaneo over the top, allowing the broad-shouldered man from Italy to in turn manage the position towards the Foia. Smart strategy.

Wout van Aert managed to snatch some bonus seconds at the foot of the Foia, which was exactly the moment when Cattaneo's role ended. Knox then took the lead again and caught up with Leknessund, who was still in the lead. Among others, Magnus Sheffield, Geraint Thomas, Filippo Ganna, Andrea Bagioli and Isaac del Toro had to drop back due to the strong pace set by Knox, who had struggled with illness and injuries in the years following his promising start among the pros. Five kilometers from the finish, Sepp Kuss of Visma | Lease a Bike also made a move to assess the damage inflicted by Knox.

Knox eventually held on until the final two thousand meters, when the first attack was launched. Jan Christen, the Swiss youngster from UAE-Team Emirates was brave enough, but immediately saw the dark eyes of Landa upon looking back. The Basque immediately pushed forward with Kuss and Evenepoel in tow. With his climbing speed, he eliminated Van Aert, who was allowing a gap to form. This opening was, however, immediately closed by Daniel Felipe Martínez, who impressively spent his first cartridge there. Sergio Higuita, Tom Pidcock, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Thymen Arensman followed.

Landa then completely pulled himself apart to maintain the pace, following which we witnessed the long-awaited move of Evenepoel. Notably, at the moment when he launched his acceleration, Martínez was practically beside him already. Evenepoel glances to the left once, sees Martínez and puts in an extra effort, following which the Colombian does the same, and they ride side by side for a while. With two hundred meters to go, the South American warrior has definitively past his opponent, allowing him to ride his own lines in the final turns. Evenepoel sits down on his saddle with a hundred meters to go and sees Martínez take the win, but still gains some nice time over the other competitors.

That early move, at about 350 meters from the finish, might not have been the smartest strategy. "Maybe I made a small mistake by going too early, but the plan was to surprise everyone a bit," Evenepoel admitted. Yet, the rightful pride in his team took center stage. "The team has shown how strong we are by controlling the race all day long." A nice realization, with big goals like Paris-Nice and especially the Tour de France on the horizon.