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Remco Evenepoel will line up at the start of the Tour de Pologne

A few hours after Deceuninck-Quick Step officially announced that Remco Evenepoel will be at the starting line of the 2020 Tour de Pologne, on August 5, we have contacted the Belgian cycling rising star to collect his impressions of what it will actually be his first participation in the race.

The Tour de Pologne will be the first World Tour race I will participate in after the forced stop due to the Covid-19 pandemic” said Evenepoel, who’s opening the second part of the season at the Vuelta a Burgos on July 28. “It will also be my first time in this race. The Tour de Pologne is a historical event I’ve always heard of. I know very little about the race itself, so I don’t exactly know what to expect but I constantly want to discover new things. That’s why I asked my teammates to tell me something about it. They said … it’s a tough and intense race. I am still learning a lot, obviously, and I want to start by trying to understand as much as possible by living every single moment and seeking to be ready for the most complicated stages.

The Belgian rider also explained that he had already studied the new route and had identified the stages that suit him best. “I know I will have to be ready for the 3rd and 4th stages which are the most testing, especially the one finishing in Bukowina Tatrzanska. With all those KOMs it is also difficult to predict who will have the legs for the finale. There are many factors to consider, including that we are facing a stage race after skipping almost all the competitions at the beginning of the season. There might be some surprises. It will be definitely important to keep the attention high at every stage of the race. Besides that, I will give it all to help the Wolfpack and to support my teammates at all times.

I have to say,” he continued, “that I would have liked to compete in a final individual time trial in Krakow. It is a discipline I particularly love, but it is also true that, due to this year’s route, the classification will be very short and the race is likely to be open until the very end. This will be even more exciting. Thrilling is one of the best parts of cycling.”

Evenepoel also explained that the Tour de Pologne is an important race for his season and, together with ‘Il Lombardia’, which will take place on August 15, it will be one of the key moments to focus on. “I haven’t seen the start list yet but I am pretty sure that there will be many riders fighting for the victory, as always,” he concluded. “It will be a spectacular race until the last kilometer.”