{"id":1758672,"date":"2026-02-05T09:46:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T06:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1758672"},"modified":"2026-02-05T09:46:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T06:46:50","slug":"evenepoel-crushes-controversial-road-bike-tt-as-wind-storm-neutralizes-racing-in-valenciana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1758672","title":{"rendered":"Evenepoel Crushes Controversial Road Bike TT as Wind Storm Neutralizes Racing in Valenciana"},"content":{"rendered":"
Remco Evenepoel didn\u2019t get to use his TT bike or make any GC gains on Thursday, but that was no problem for the Belgian bullet as he rocketed to his fourth win in five races with Red Bull.<\/p>\n
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Evenepoel led home a 1-2 for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe ahead of teammate Aleksandr Vlasov in a stormy, controversial day Thursday in Spain\u2019s Communitat Valenciana.<\/p>\n
Brutal 80kph gusts forced officials to make the late call that riders must use more stable road bikes rather than TT machines prone to disaster in any fierce cross-wind.<\/p>\n
A stage-winner was awarded, but time gaps did not count toward GC in a decision that divided the peloton.<\/p>\n
Some called the decision \u201ccrazy\u201d and felt racing should have stopped altogether, while some were just happy to be able to race.<\/p>\n
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COMUNICADO OFICIAL pic.twitter.com\/Sh0cdTaRI1<\/p>\n
\u2014 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana – VCV (@VueltaCV) February 5, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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No TT bike, no problem for Evenepoel<\/h2>\n
There was little surprise that stage-winner Evenepoel was one of those who wanted to ride Thursday, whatever the weather.<\/p>\n
The world and Olympic TT champions went all-in to win his first individual time trial for Red Bull, while many others took the steadier, more cautious approach.<\/p>\n
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Even without GC gains to be made, Evenepoel blazed around the 17km course at more than 50kph in a display of raw power and aero panache.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was still a stage win to grab, and I wanted to respect the organization,\u201d Evenepoel said at the finish. \u201cThey wanted to let the race continue for stage results and I decided to come and race here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also respect the decision everybody made,\u201d Evenepoel said. \u201cWe\u2019re 1 and 2 today with Aleks, so it\u2019s a good result for us. We prepared all day as if it were a TT, so it was better to use this as a good test, and with a good result.\u201d<\/p>\n
Belgian broadcasters HLN<\/em> and Sporza<\/em> both reported that Evenepoel had been fuming at the start line when he learned the TT bike was off the day\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d been seen flexing a 64-tooth chain ring on his time trial machine and wanted to go fast.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old had clearly calmed down by the time he chalked up win no.4 of 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a sport where we\u2019re allowed to make last-minute decisions, and we have to respect them,\u201d Evenepoel said at the finish.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have to be real sportsmen in our minds, and be ready for flexibility,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me it wasn\u2019t a big difference. I know I can also ride fast on a normal bike in a TT.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overnight race leader Bianiam Girmay finished close to 4 minutes back on Evenepoel but the stage neutralization means he retains his GC lead.<\/p>\n
Peloton divided: \u2018It\u2019s crazy, the course is unsafe\u2019<\/h2>\nWinds of up to 80kph battered the course Thursday lunchtime.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Thursday marked the second time that the very-short 2026 season has been impacted by adverse weather.<\/p>\n
On the other side of the planet from stormy Spain, organizers at the Tour Down Under had to adjust the iconic Willunga stage last month due to the risk of wildfires.<\/p>\n
Evenepoel wasn\u2019t the only one to be angry at the decision to neutralize the stage Thursday. Some thought officials didn\u2019t go far enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy, the course is just unsafe,\u201d Movistar\u2019s Cian Uijtdebroeks said before the stage. \u201cRiding with the TT bike is impossible with the wind gusts, but also the barriers are flying over the road, so even with the road bike, it\u2019s unsafe.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2018Remco didn\u2019t agree\u2019<\/h2>\nEvenepoel\u2019s frown turned upside down through the course of the afternoon in Valencia.<\/span> (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Many others thought otherwise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is better for safety. There\u2019s a really strong wind. I took the initiative,\u201d Yves Lampaert told HLN<\/em> before the start, explaining teams petitioned race organizers to adjust the stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemco didn\u2019t agree, but we reached that conclusion with several other teams. The rest had to comply with the majority.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Winds eased slightly as the afternoon went on, making racing a little more feasible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was a good decision to still fight for the day\u2019s victory,\u201d Bauke Mollema said. \u201cBut for the general classification, when everyone has to go all out, with a time trial bike \u2013 that just wasn\u2019t possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riders who spoke to TV reporters at the finish Thursday afternoon all had their own opinions.<\/p>\n
It was one of those scenarios where officials would have wound up somebody, no matter what decision they made.<\/p>\n
One person they didn\u2019t end up aggravating? Evenepoel.<\/p>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/valencia.jpeg”] Updated February 5, 2026 09:57AM Remco Evenepoel didn\u2019t get to use his TT bike or make any GC gains on Thursday, but that was no problem for the Belgian bullet as he rocketed to his fourth win in five races with Red Bull. Evenepoel led home a 1-2 for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe ahead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1758672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1758672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758672\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1758672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1758672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1758672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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