<\/p>\n
“I think the major highlight is it’s only 40 days of racing for Remco Evenepoel, so not a lot. It’s a traditional programme, you know, he’s going to focus on the Ardennes. But you also have to say that a rider like Remco Evenepoel, in a team like Red Bull, he’s hired there to win every single race on his programme. There is no races there that he’s not going to have any pressure,” Bruyneel said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that a lighter calendar does not reduce expectations for a rider of Evenepoel\u2019s caliber, as he is always expected to be in 100% shape. “He has the pressure all the time to perform. So, for a rider like Remco, I think that works, because I’ve seen a lot of times that when he comes back from a training block without any races, he performs mostly the best. In 2023,\u00a0he raced 68 days, so it’s a significant step down.”<\/p>\n
Bruyneel drew parallels with Mathieu van der Poel, who has also raced selectively in his career. “I know a guy who did less races last year, around 40, and it’s Mathieu Van der Poel. And he had 37 race days in 2021, but it is the same thing as Remco.\u00a0Every single race he starts, he has to perform. That’s the label he has. He needs to be the leader of the team and perform.”<\/p>\n
Victories are of course never guaranteed, but riders like them are always in the mix, never taking “break races” according to Bruyneel. “So, the good thing about these guys is that usually they do deliver. They’re not always winning, but they’re always in it for the win.”<\/p>\n