Remco Evenepoel will relocate from Belgium to Spain this winter, heading to Alicante to make the most of the training conditions and to escape the glare of his home country.
The World Champion has been a regular visitor to the south east corner of Spain, which is awash with professional cyclists, particularly during the winter when teams descend for their off-season training camps.
Evenepoel laid the foundations for his Vuelta a España victory last month with a two-week stint in the area, which boasts quiet, well-surfaced roads, clement year-round weather, and a combination of coastal roads and inland climbs.
“The region around Alicante is a really beautiful area to train. The weather is good all year round, so it’s ideal for my basics and winter training,” Evenepoel told Het Laatste Nieuws (opens in new tab).
“I also find a training route that is a bit harder than the Ardennes, which is also necessary because I want to keep targeting the Grand Tours and the difficult climbing stage races.”
Evenepoel’s last couple of visits to Alicante have seen him stay in the Syncrosfera hotel run by former pro Alexander Kolobnev, which features atmosphere-adjustable rooms that can mimic the effects of high altitude.
With a permanent residence in the facility even beyond the new World Champion’s price bracket, he is looking at the next best thing by installing his own altitude room in his new apartment. Most riders use nylon tents but Evenepoel appears set on mimicking the plush integrated set-up and touch-screen technology found in the hotel.
“You earn back the expenses you make for Syncrosfera with such a room in your own house, so we have already thought about that,” Evenepoel said.
“There are plans for it, but then the architect will have to visit again.”
Altitude tents – or hyperbaric chambers – are used widely be professional cyclists to mimic the blood-boosting effects of sleeping at high-altitude with low oxygen. However, they are seen as controversial in some quarters, and the practice remains forbidden to Italian cyclists under anti-doping rules.
Evenepoel’s new apartment was purchased several months ago and is now ready for him to move into when he returns from his honeymoon in the Maldives.
The 22-year-old will have a few days in Belgium to pack up his belongings, before opting for a quieter life away from the clamour of his home country, where he has rocketed to superstardom in the wake of his victories at the Vuelta and Worlds.
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