Remco Evenepoel will make his debut this Sunday at the Tour of Flanders, but the project had been in the works for some time and his preparation for the Ronde already began in December. So pay attention: if Remco, a Flemish rider, shows up at the start of a race as important as the Ronde, it will be to fight hard and be a major protagonist. The "Flanders project" was kept in great secrecy until yesterday, when Evenepoel himself revealed it in a video on his YouTube channel.

The footage shows the Belgian and part of the Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team on reconnaissance of the cobblestone sectors: in the team car is sports director Allan Peiper. "It's December 27th, it's very cold," says Remco. "I'm here at the top of the Koppenberg and this means I have to tell you something: I will be racing the Tour of Flanders this season. I'm doing a secret reconnaissance. I'm riding completely dressed in black, because at the moment I can't wear my Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe kit. And once this video comes out, I won't be able to race in my previous team's kit anymore".

The video lasts about 20 minutes and is extremely detailed. The two-time Olympic champion and four-time world champion tests the course with some of his teammates passing over the most important points of the Ronde, such as the Molenberg and the Paterberg, included in the Circuit of Death in the final 70 kilometers of the race. "It will be my first participation in Flanders," explains Remco, 26 years old. "That's why I want to be completely prepared and ready 100%. I'm very excited about this reconnaissance weekend and certainly about the actual race as well".

On the second day, Evenepoel rides with teammate Gianni Vermeersch. Interestingly: the two had already been spotted on the final climbs of the Flemish classic, but when they were stopped by some fans they had said they had met by chance while training.

Other details from the video: "Today we'll do the descent towards Oudenaarde and some sections, and tomorrow I'll be joined by some members of the team staff and we'll do a complete reconnaissance of the final 160 kilometers of the race. It will be the first time, obviously, that I'll race Flanders, and that's why I want to be 100% ready. I'm really excited about this reconnaissance weekend".

"Okay, we're at Denderhoutem, which is about 16 kilometers from my home, and from here on I'll be on the Ronde course. I'm excited. It's cold outside, really cold, but fortunately I have super warm clothes, so we should be fine".

"I've been riding on cobblestones for a while now. Thanks to the tires, I have a good feeling on the cobblestones. I have tubeless 32mm tires, which should work well. Gearing 56-43, 10-36. Today we'll do some high-intensity training to test the climbs. Peiper will also join us. Basically, we're here to get some familiarity with the course and test the new tires we'll use".

Allan Peiper is the Australian who hosted Maurizio Fondriest at his home in the 1990s when the Trentino rider was racing with the Dutch Panasonic team. "Hi, I'm Peiper. I'm the strategic consultant for the Red Bull team, I'm 65 years old and I've dedicated my entire life to this sport. Today's objective is for Remco and Gianni to get a look at the course and get an idea of the tire pressure they might choose for Flanders. Both of them come from different teams and have Sram shifters with different gearing: so they'll tackle the climbs at full speed to get an idea of the gearing. The teeth of the front chainring are fundamental, this is a good time to test them".

Evenepoel concludes like this: "It was a really pleasant reconnaissance weekend. I'm happy with the sensations and how everything went. We were super lucky with the weather, because it's late December and we had about five degrees and dry conditions, so really fantastic for us. Also, I hope you enjoy this video. It will be my first Tour of Flanders ever". Watch out!