Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe reaped a trifecta of immediate benefits in the debut of their new team leader, Remco Evenepoel. Across a collection of one-day events at Challenge Mallorca, the Belgian has gone three for three.
"Three victories in three days, 100% success. That's a good year," Evenepoel told Eurosport after his win at Trofeo Andratx-Pollença on Saturday.
"We managed to win again and also put Maxim [Van Gils] on the podium. Finishing first and third for our third victory this week is a really great way to end the Mallorca Challenge. It’s a big motivational boost," he added in a team statement.
"’ll already be back racing again on Wednesday, and it’s always good to start the season with some early wins."
Evenepoel makes his next start at Volta Comunitat Valenciana, the five-day hilly stage race featuring a race against the clock on day two from Carlet to Alginet. That was originally his opening race for 2026 for his new team, but he added the middle set of races on the Balearic island recently, attracted by climbing and the team time trial.
Evenepoel made a statement by leading the squad to victory on Friday in the team time trial in Ses Salines in Mallorca, a tune-up for the opening stage of this year's Tour de France, also a TTT. He also won the Trofeo Serra Tramuntana.
The appeals to race several days in Mallorca were hilly courses and pleasant weather. Saturday delivered the first expectation, and a different interpretation for the latter.
For a second year, strong winds impacted Trofeo Andratx-Pollença, with last year's race cancelled due to weather conditions. This year, the start of the race was delayed and the route shortened by 26km for a total of 121km.
"The conditions were even harder than yesterday, with a lot of cross and headwinds, which made it difficult to create the difference the way we had planned," the time trial Olympic and World Champion said.
At the rider sign-in at Andratx, Evenepoel stated he would attack on the most difficult of the four climbs, category 1 Col de Puge Major, the 14.2km climb averaging nearly 6% coming at the mid-point of the race.
He kept his promise and shook up the front of the race on the climb and created big gaps, with only eight other riders creating a decisive breakaway, his teammate Van Gils there for the final 47km.
"I think the Puge Major is quite a long climb, but not super steep. I think it was, in general, more difficult to make a big, big difference there. In the descent, [it] was quite a lot of headwind," he noted in the post-race interview with Eurosport.
"And then from the car, I got the advice to just go flat-out till the [final] climb, and that's where I try to make my move. And it was a good one."
It was on the 3.5km slopes of the Mirador d'Es Colomer where he dropped Diego Pescador (Movistar) and then Mathys Rondel (Tudor Pro) to secure his third victory in three days, and second individual win.
"But of course, I think it's going to be difficult to keep this up. But I think it's really nice and really, really happy with how it went here in three days. Good sensations with the team as well, it's very positive to start like this."
The final Mallorca race is Sunday at Trofeo Palma, and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will be led by 23-year-old Adrien Boichis, who was fourth at the opener, Trofeo Calvià.
