Remco Evenpole is gearing up for an important season that will see him make his debut at the Tour de France, and the Belgian has been working out the details ahead of the season opener in Portugal on February 10.

The time trial world champion knows that maximizing his advantage against the clock against two-time Tour winners Jonas Vingegaard (Vimaris a Bike) and Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) in July will be crucial.

Time trials are important in this year's Tour, with a flat and fast TT on stage 7 followed by a grueling hilly race against the clock on the final stage from Monaco to Nice.

This will be the first time the Tour has finished in a time trial since Greg LeMond stole victory from Laurent Fignon in Paris in 1989.

Evenpoel visited the wind tunnel at Politecnico di Milano on Monday to fine-tune details for the European season with his team, Soudal-QuickStep, and the technical staff of clothing provider Castelli.

According to Soudal-Quick-Step, the world champion's main objective was to "test various apparel options, including skin suits and shoe covers, as well as helmet options for both road and time trial use."

With his extremely aggressive positioning and ability to cut through the wind with his small frame, Evenpoel demands precise, custom-made requirements for his setup to maximize performance.

"Lemko's position is so compact and aerodynamic that most solutions that work for other riders do not produce the same results for Lemko.

"We are at a level where top riders need customized solutions. Fortunately, Remco has always recognized the importance of this work and has devoted a lot of time to testing and improving it."

Evenpoel won three individual time trial victories in 2023, two at the Giro d'Italia before abandoning in COVID-19 and a world title in Scotland.

In the 2024 Tour, he will be hoping to compete in a time trial with Vingegaard, Pogachar, and Primoš Roglic (Bora-Hansgrohe). Roglic is the Olympic champion in this discipline, and Vingegaard was more than 1:30 ahead in the only time trial of the 2023 Tour.

"The time we spend in the wind tunnel and the data we get from it is invaluable. In a time trial at the level of Remco, subtle differences can make a big difference," said Cohen Pelgrim, head coach of Sudar-Quickstep.

"In the controlled environment of the wind tunnel, you can see what a difference different materials make, and at the same time see how different positions on the bike work.

"Remco has a great position on the bike and Castelli already produces excellent TT suits.

Another important goal for Evenpoel this year is the Paris Olympics time trial in the same month, namely July. This will be a busy time for Evenpoel, as he will win gold immediately after completing his first Tour de France, but he seems to relish the pressure it will put on him.

"The Tour de France and the Olympics in the same month are the two most famous sporting events in the whole world. [July] will be a very exciting and special month," said Evenpoel at last week's Sourdal-Quick Step team presentation.

"Everything is focused on that month: ...... We have to give our best performance ever."

After his season debut at the Figuera Classic next month, the Belgian champion's pre-Tour schedule will include: Paris-Nice, Ituria-Basque, Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and Criterium du Dauphiné.