Evenepoel: 'The time trial went as I expected'

Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel acknowledged that his team's fifth-place finish in the Barcelona team time trial was largely in line with expectations. Leading the Red Bull Bora Hasgrohe squad, Evenepoel's team finished 19 seconds behind the leading Visma team, which claimed the first yellow jersey. Evenepoel described the performance as "quite good," noting that the team managed to minimize time losses on the flat terrain while executing their strategy effectively on the ascents.

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It's the result we more or less expected. I think it's quite good.

"It's the result we more or less expected. I think it's quite good," Evenepoel commented after the stage. He highlighted his personal effort in the final section, aiming to maintain the fastest possible pace on the climbs. Despite the team losing two riders early in the race, a circumstance he acknowledged can happen, Evenepoel maintained a positive outlook on the team's overall effort.

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We didn't lose much time on the flat, we did the time trial we could. I knew I had to carry the weight in the final section to ride as fast as possible on the climbs. We lost two riders early, but that can happen.

"We didn't lose much time on the flat, we did the time trial we could. I knew I had to carry the weight in the final section to ride as fast as possible on the climbs. We lost two riders early, but that can happen," he explained. Evenepoel did not express significant dissatisfaction with the outcome, stating, "We can't complain." However, he did allude to "two small details that didn't go well due to the circumstances," suggesting that minor issues prevented an even stronger performance.

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We can't complain.