- **We've changed the original headline on this piece. There was no intention to mislead people. However, between our own misreading of what Lefevere said and some 'lost in translation' issues, the headline was poor. The main issue was our slight misreading of what he said regarding watts per kg. If we ever drop the ball - which is inevitable from time to time - we'll stick our hand up and acknowledge that.
Patrick Lefevere, team boss at QuickStep Alpha Vinyl, has claimed Remco Evenepoel’s watts per kilogramme while climbing during his Tour of Norway win were better than anything Tour de France Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) has put out so far this year.
But Lefevere claimed he was not impressed by the numbers riders could produce. He said there were so many variables in bike racing that the number of watts of power per kilogramme of body weight a rider could produce was only one part of what was required to win races.
However, he still took the opportunity to compare Evenpoel’s numbers to Pogačar’s, adding his young Belgian star was now a much better rider than at any time during his career.
“I read everywhere that Remco has achieved the best climbing performance of the year,” Lefevere said in his Het Nieuwsblad column. “He kicked 6.5 watts per kilo for half an hour on Thursday, which even Tadej Pogacar would not have done this year,” Lefevere added of Evenepoel winning stage 3 in Norway solo on the 12.1km Stavsro-Gaustatoppen climb, averaging 7.6 per cent gradient.
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“Remco himself also talks about his best values ever. Those data are a point of reference for riders, but it doesn't make me warm. What is the value of watts per kilo if you do not know the exact weight and do not take into account course tactics, wind direction or the previous course?
“I don't care much about it. Doing better than Tadej Pogacar is beating him in the race. 6.5 watts per kilo does not suddenly make Evenepoel a favorite for the Vuelta.”
Lefevere also noted his star rider had been able to win sprints at the Tour of Norway – where he claimed three stages and the overall – and was also much more composed. He explained when Luke Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers) and Jay Vine (Alpecin Fenix) sat on him for long periods, the 22-year-old Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner did not lose his cool with them, like he had done with others in the past, describing him as "unrecognisable".
"He doesn't look anything like the rider from a year ago. Everyone has already talked extensively about his increased explosiveness – as he now showed it again in the first leg. But I also find the mental metamorphosis striking.”
