Another phenomenal feat, a crystal-clear message he wanted to send to his opponents. On his second day of racing this season, after winning the team time trial with his new Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe teammates at a record average of 59.7 km/h, Remco Evenepoel pulled off a solo breakaway of 50 km to win the Serra de Tramuntana Trophy, the third race of the Challenge Maiorca in Spain.

"This victory gives hope for the coming months," Evenepoel, 26, begins with a big smile, "and I'm very happy. It's fantastic to be able to start a new chapter of my career like this, and this second success gives great motivation to me and the team to continue on this path."

Evenepoel had already animated the race on the Coll de Soller, 55 kilometers from the finish. Five kilometers later, he was already leading alone, demonstrating all his superiority: a well-planned attack. "I'm very happy to have been able to carry out the plan we organized this morning: it was a difficult and beautiful race. Especially in the central part, it was all up and down, and it was quite challenging to create a gap."

He succeeded, leaving Morgado (UAE) and Scaroni (Xds Astana) 1'38" behind. Tomorrow Evenepoel will aim for a hat-trick in the Andratx-Pollença Trophy, on a hilly course that suits his characteristics: "Three out of three would be fantastic, we'll see how my legs feel. The team's goal is to try to win this race as well. We'll do our best."