Remco Evenepoel returns to Strava, takes eight Tenerife KOMs: Can he stop Pogačar at Liège?

Remco Evenepoel set eight separate King of the Mountains (KOM) records on Strava on a training ride in Tenerife this week ahead of his duel with Tadej Pogačar at Liège-Bastogne-Liège this Sunday.

Last week, Soudal Quick-Step briefed out that the world champion would no longer be publishing his activities on Strava for all to see, so the public availability of his Wednesday ride should be taken as a shot across Pogačar's bows. Not that the Slovenian would necessarily notice, as he stormed to victory at La Flèche Wallonne on the same day.

“People know enough already,” Soudal Quick-Step sport director Klaas Lodewyck explained to Het Nieuwsblad last week. “I don’t think you should post everything online, the opposition looks at it. If I were a racer now, I wouldn’t do it either.”

This week, however, Evenepoel posted his "Adios" to Tenerife ride this week, where he has been training at altitude ahead of the Giro d'Italia.

Before the Corsa Rosa, however, there is the small matter of Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, a race which Evenepoel won last year, in Pogačar's absence.

The latter is on record-breaking form, with three wins in a row at the Tour of Flanders, the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne ahead of Liège this weekend, which is the final jewel in the Ardennes crown.

Evenepoel, meanwhile, has not raced since he finished second at the Volta a Catalunya last month behind Primož Roglič, his biggest rival for the Giro, which begins in a fortnight.

However, he has been training hard, as his Strava stats show. On Wednesday's final Tenerife ride, the Belgian averaged 31.1km/h over 125.97km, which included 3,388m of climbing.

Among the KOMs he set was the segment of Machado to Las Lagunetas, which he took by over five minutes from the previous record holder. He climbed 974m over 12.27km, at an average of 7.9%, in just 38-59, showing his form.

The posting of the Strava activity can be read as a warning to his rivals that he is ready. However, it should be noted that the 23-year-old still had his power numbers hidden, lest the give the game away.

Evenepoel's chances at Liège will be bolstered by the return of Julian Alaphilippe to his Quick-Step squad. The Frenchman missed Amstel and Flèche through injury, but could play an invaluable role in his team's defence of the fourth Monument this weekend.

“Liège–Bastogne–Liège was special last season," Evenepoel said in a press statement on Thursday. "I came at the start without too many expectations, but we had a plan – and that was to go for the win – which we executed perfectly. 

"For sure, the crash in the bunch that took out two of my teammates wasn’t ideal for us, but we found a way to handle that stressful moment and we remained focused on our goal. That victory was the biggest of my career at that point, a moment I’ll never forget."

“Remco comes here from an altitude training camp and will be very motivated, especially as he will be present at the start as the defending champion and owner of the rainbow jersey," directeur sportif Geert Van Bondt said. "He can count on good teammates, who have a strong condition, and this makes us confident. 

We will see what role Julian will have; he knows the course and this race suits him perfectly, and the most important thing is that he can now train pain-free and be at the start. We’ll also need to see if the wind and the rain expected on Sunday can influence the race, but as we said, the confidence is there."