The Belgian champion's custom Hot Rod inspired Tarmac SL8, plus all his notable bikes from seasons past
(Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Remco Evenepoel sits among a select few riders that have defied specialisation from a young age. Like other rides such as Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, and Tadej Pogaçar, Evenepoel has stormed to victory in races as diverse as the world time trial championship, the Vuelta a España, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and the world road race championship.
In 2023 he was the world champion, and rightly had a white bike to commemorate this. This year he is 'only' Belgian champion, but this means yet another custom bike to add to the litany of custom bikes bestowed on the Belgian wonderkid.
This season he's aboard a Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8, with a colour scheme more reminiscent of a classic hot rod than the belgian flag, but the colour scheme is still on point.
What is Remco Evenepoel's bike?
Soudal-Quickstep is one of several teams sponsored by Specialized, and as it only produces the new Tarmac SL8 'all rounder', rather than having separate aero and lightweight bikes (this narrative seems to forget the Aethos, but given it's too light to race under the current UCI rules, we'll roll with it), Remco will be riding one of these along with the rest of the squad.
As the current Belgian champion, however, he is not only afforded the privilege of donning his national flag in the form of a jersey but he also has a special custom Tarmac with a complimentary paint job, which as mentioned above, pays homage (probably unintentionally) to vintage hot rods in the process.
While out touring the WorldTour winter training camps, we were fortunate enough to convince the Soudal-Quickstep mechanics to let us borrow the very bike he'll use to kick off his 2024 season for enough time to take these photos.
He's a small rider at 171cm, and uses a 52cm frameset. He technically is between two sizes, but, as nearly all pros would, he's sized down and opted for a longer stem. While we weren't allowed to weigh this model, given the small size of the frame we don't doubt that the mechanics will have been able to get it more or less bang on the UCI 6.8kg weight limit.
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Remco Evenepoel's Specialized S Works Tarmac SL8: Specifications
Frame
Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 - 52cm.
Groupset
Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9250 12-speed
Brakes
Shimano Dura-Ace 9270 hydraulic disc
Wheelset
Roval Alpinist CLX II (Roval Rapide CLX II on flatter days)
While the Tarmac is a new bike, the setup from last season is relatively similar. This is his second bike, denoted by a number 2 on the rear of the seat post, and while the lower profile Roval Aplinist CLX II wheels are more of a climbing wheel, we do see him switching between these and the deeper Rapide CLX II depending on the terrain.
Up front his cockpit is new. Gone is the Pro Vibe aero bar and stem as separate components, replaced by the new Roval Rapide cockpit. Gone, too, is the inwardly pointed brake levers, thanks to the UCI ban on tilted shifters. His position also seems to be unchanged; the inline seatpost is still there for 2024, bechromed though it is here, and his stem length and bar width seem to be his usual 38cm x 110 or 120mm.
We spoke to Soudal Quick-Step about their bike setup for the season and learned that Evenepoel is experimenting with shorter cranks. He's now running 165mm cranks on his TT bike, and trying it on his road bike too.
While we did see Evenepoel using tubeless in 2023, it seems that he and the rest of the team are primarily using Specialized Turbo Cotton tyres and latex inner tubes. It's faster, so says the team, though we wouldn't be surprised to see them opt for tubeless if there was a gravel stage or an increased risk of punctures.
His gearing is an appropriately pro 54/40t, though this again may change depending on the terrain. The chainset is part of a full Shimano Dura-Ace groupset, including the power meter, though we have seen his team mates using 4iiii power units too. This may be what he will use for his 'Number 1' race bike going forward, keeping the Dura-Ace power model for his spare bike.
As for his contact points, he uses Dura-Ace pedals with their oversized bearings that somewhat resemble power pedals, a Specialized S-Works Power with Mirror saddle, and Supacaz bar tape, finished with cotton finishing tape.
Black and chrome, with only the odd hint of red and yellow to denote that this is in fact the bike of a Belgian champion (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
His in-line seatpost is not what comes as stock on the new Tarmac SL8 (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Gone is the separate bar and stem, replaced by a one-piece Roval Rapide unit (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Dura-Ace discs and calipers match the rest of the groupset (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The Tarmac's bottom bracket isn't as chunky as many other bikes in the bunch (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
A K-Edge chain keeper helps stop the chain from dropping off inside (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
A Dura-Ace power meter and cadence magnet. His #1 race bike may use a 4iiii power meter this season though (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The oversized bearings of Dura-Ace pedals resemble a power unit (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Straight hoods now, thanks to the UCI banning the inwardly turned position (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The protruding nose, or 'Speed Sniffer' is a marked feature of the new Tarmac (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Evenepoel opts for a shorter nosed, 3D printed S-Works Power saddle (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
There's room for bigger tyres, but the team tends to opt for 26mm rubber in all but exceptional circumstances (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Cotton sidewalls and latex inner tubes are a recipe for low rolling resistance, but the puncture protection can't match that of tubeless (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
A half steel, half titanium rear cassette. Dura-Ace tries to balance low weight, durability, and cost (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The team mechanics have neatly affixed the Di2 cables to the frame and mech hanger so that they don't get snagged in the event of a crash, or in transit (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
CeramicSpeed bearings lie in the hubs to help them roll more smoothly (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Minimal sponsor decals exist on this frame, tucked just above the seat post water bottle (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Here's another shot of his cockpit, and the small flashes of red and yellow on the top tube (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
There's still a mere hint of inward inflection, but nothing that should trouble the commissaires (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The chrome chequerboard motif does call to mind vintage American cars (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The S logo has also been chromed on the head tube (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Just in case he forgets who he is when signing autographs? (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Remco Evenepoel's 2023 World Champion's Specialized Tarmac SL7
Having won the 2022 World Championship road race in Wollongong, Australia, Evenepoel was, as is customary, treated by his bike sponsor to a mostly white bike to ride for his season in the rainbow bands. Given the release of the new Specialized Tarmac SL8 at the Glasgow super-worlds, it was the final time we saw the Belgian superstar on the outgoing model.
Given rule changes and new equipment from Specialized, it was also the last time we saw him with the aggressively turned in hoods we got used to seeing so many riders opt for before they were banned by the UCI, and the last time we saw him opt for a separate bar and step combo.
As world champions bikes go, Evenepoel's Specialized Tarmac SL7 was relatively understated (Image credit: Will Jones)
There's only one rider per season that gets top tube details like this (Image credit: Will Jones)
The Pro Vibe Aero SL bars are already narrow at 38cm, but Remco opted to turn his hoods inwards in a now illegal move to reduce his frontal area (Image credit: Will Jones)
Prior to the launch of the Roval Rapide integrated bar-stem, Remco, like many Soudal Quick-Step riders, opted for the Pro Vibe SL bar (Image credit: Will Jones)
From the side you can barely see the rainbow detailing, only the sponsor logos (Image credit: Will Jones)
Rainbow computer mount for his year in the bands (Image credit: Will Jones)
.500, which we suspect is a reference to the margin between victory and loss (Image credit: Will Jones)
Another subtle bit of custom text, befitting of the work needed to become world champion (Image credit: Will Jones)
Remco Evenepoel's 2022 World Championship winning bike
In order to earn oneself a rainbow bike one must first win the world championship road race. Remco Evenepoel won the hilly course in Wollongong, Australia, with a solo attack 25km from the line. He was riding a bike very much the same as his current white steed, but in the case of the world championship race, he was running the older model of the tyres.
While the bike and componentry were essentially the same, the all-black paint job will have been lighter as it is essentially raw carbon rather than heavy white paint. Interestingly on his worlds-winning bike, we did spot that the Di2 cable had been secured to the derailleur hanger by what looks like heat shrink or black tape, to avoid any potential mishaps in such an important race. While we didn't spot this on his bike at the training camp it may be something we see during races.
A much more stealthy bike for the one day race. No team colours here either, as he was riding for Belgium rather than QuickStep (Image credit: Specialized)
His worlds bike featured the previous generation of the Turbo Rapidair tyres, despite the new version having been released already (Image credit: Specialized)
His cockpit setup hasn't changed either, except for the computer mount (Image credit: Specialized)
"Remco Evenepoel - 22 - This is only the beginning - Made In Racing" could well be a remarkably prescient caption for a toptube (Image credit: Specialized)
Remco Evenepoel's 2022 Vuelta a España winning bike
Some riders can win one-day races regularly. Some riders can win grand tours and stage races. The crossover at the centre of the Venn Diagram that encompasses both races contains an alarmingly small number of riders. One of them though is Remco Evenepoel, who, before winning the world championships in Australia, brought the red jersey of the Vuelta a España back to Belgium for the first time in many many years.
His bike, as per his worlds-winning, and world champions bikes above, was mostly stock, save for a commemorative red paint job and a colour-matched saddle and bar tape. The Roval Rapide, rather than Alpinist, wheelset features red decals applied over the white.
All red everything, befitting of a Vuelta champion (Image credit: Cyclingimages)
A red 3D printed saddle and red to black fade Supacaz bar tape take care of the details (Image credit: Cyclingimages)
The decals are well applied, but you can just about make out the original white logos underneath on the Rapide wheels (Image credit: Cyclingimages)
The same Di2 cable hack can be seen here, so we expect to see it on his white bike too when the time comes to go racing (Image credit: Cyclingimages)
Remco Evenepoel's time trial bike
While Remco spends the majority of his time on his S-Works Tarmac SL7 through the season, he occasionally has to take part in time trials. As part of his 2022 Vuelta win, he also took stage 10 aboard his Specialized Shiv TT bike by a margin of 48 seconds.
Below you can see the setup he usually opts for, though for the Vuelta he used an Aerocoach front wheel rather than the Roval model you can see here. It's a bike designed to battle against the clock, so everything is optimised for maximum efficiency, including custom-made bars moulded to his forearms
A very different bike to the Tarmac (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
The aero extensions, in which the riders spend most of the time, are custom moulded to Remco's arms by Dutch company, Speedbar. Notice the sandpaper in place of bar tape for grip (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
A disc wheel at the back makes things significantly more aerodynamic, but harder to control in crosswinds (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
As time trials are usually flat, bigger chainrings are often used; in this case 58/46t (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
A snub-nosed saddle, the Sitero, allows the saddle to be pushed further forward while still remaining legal, and allowing a more aggressive position (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Tyres with cotton sidewalls, S-Works Turbo Cotton here, offer lower rolling resistance but are noticeably more fragile so are more often used on shorter races like time trials (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Remco Evenepoel's gravel bike
Gravel is the hottest genre in cycling at the moment, and more and more pro racers from the road scene are popping up at gravel races. While Remco Evenepoel doesn't routinely take part in the gravel scene at the moment, his presence at the 2021 Belgian Waffle Ride, a gravel race in California, aboard an S-Works Crux was noteworthy enough to warrant a gallery, despite the fact he only rode the short 'Wafer' route rather than the full 'Waffle'.
Given he's a Specialized and Shimano-sponsored athlete it's no surprise to see him aboard an S-Works Crux, equipped with Shimano GRX Di2 and Roval wheels. The tyres, Pathfinder 42mm models, were also Specialized. Given the lack of neutral service in gravel racing, it's much more common to see riders carrying repair equipment, like spare inner tubes, along with them for the race in case of any bad luck.
It's not quite a Tarmac, but from a distance there are certainly similarities (Image credit: Specialized)
A 1x Shimano GRX electronic groupset takes care of shifting and breaking. A single front chainring brings simplicity, and is more reliable in muddy conditions as there isn't a front derailleur to clog up (Image credit: Specialized)
Roval Terra CLX wheels are shod with Specialized Pathfinder Pro tyres in 42mm width (Image credit: Specialized)
No aero handlebars here, but the hoods are still turned inwards. While the team now use Garmin they were previously sponsored by Wahoo, hence the Elemnt Roam head unit (Image credit: Specialized)
Remco uses the same S-Works Power with Mirror saddle for road and gravel, but here there's an inner tube stashed at the back for emergencies (Image credit: Specialized)
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Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. There are very few types of cycling he's not dabbled in, and he has a particular affection for older bikes and long lasting components. Road riding was his first love, before graduating to racing CX in Yorkshire. He's been touring on a vintage tandem all the way through to fixed gear gravel riding and MTB too. When he's not out riding one of his many bikes he can usually be found in the garage tinkering with another of them, or getting obsessive about tyres. Also, as he doesn't use Zwift, he's our go-to guy for bad weather testing... bless him.
Rides: Custom Zetland Audax, Bowman Palace:R, Peugeot Grand Tourisme Tandem, Falcon Explorer Tracklocross, Fairlight Secan & Strael
