Evenepoel's new coach reveals he used Vingegaard's numbers as benchmark for Tour
Remco Evenepoel's Tour de France podium push began with doubts, but new coach Tim Heemskerk helped reshape his preparation after the Belgian struggled in their first major altitude camp session together.
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Tim Heemskerk took charge of Remco Evenepoel’s Tour de France preparation earlier than originally planned after his arrival at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, with the Olympic champion requesting his involvement following Dan Lorang’s departure to Lidl-Trek.
The Dutch coach arrived from Visma | Lease a Bike, where he guided Jonas Vingegaard to two Tour victories. He used that knowledge while assessing Evenepoel’s level before the race, and during the final stages of preparation, he compared the Red Bull rider’s power output with that of the two-time Tour winner.
“That is an advantage, yes. During the final hard training sessions before the Tour, I was able to compare Evenepoel’s power output with Vingegaard’s,” Heemskerk told Het Nieuwsblad.
“Based on that, I knew: just one small step more and we’ll be there. It’s sometimes hard not to constantly compare Evenepoel’s and Vingegaard’s numbers, but on the other hand, I always try to focus on our own strengths.”
Things did not begin smoothly, as Evenepoel revealed. During their first altitude camp in the Sierra Nevada, Evenepoel struggled to complete an interval session that had originally been planned as part of his Tour build-up.
The setback forced Heemskerk to adjust the approach, moving away from immediate high-intensity work and focusing instead on gradually rebuilding Evenepoel’s endurance and ability to clear lactate.
“We started with easier training sessions, focused more on endurance, where he would produce lactate but also clear it. For each session, I would add a little bit more, only reaching the workouts I had originally intended to do during the final week of the altitude camp.”
The changes helped Evenepoel to have his most successful Tour to date, winning two stages en route to finishing second overall behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in Paris.
Heemskerk believes Evenepoel still has further Grand Tour potential, especially with a full winter and preparation period ahead.
“If he can train at full intensity from the very first week of an altitude camp, I feel even more is possible. That starts in the winter. My motto is always: do what is necessary, not as much as is possible.”
Following a record-breaking fourth victory at the Clásica San Sebastián on Saturday, Evenepoel has outlined that his main objective for the remainder of the 2026 season will be the World Championships in Montreal.
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