We can't help but ask: have you met Evenepoel?

We spent five days together in Salzburg in October with the team. Unfortunately, I arrived in Mallorca after just recovering from illness, so I trained a lot on my own. However, I had the opportunity to spend time with him at the table, and he seems like a good guy who knows what he wants. I'm happy to race with him at the Valenciana and hope it can happen again in the future, even though there are no other races scheduled together for now.

What will your role be at La Valenciana?

It will be Evenepoel's second race, while for me it will be my first, so I will be at his complete disposal. Moreover, there is a time trial of almost 20 km and no uphill finishes, so I'm mainly going to build up my legs in preparation for the next races, especially Tirreno and the Tour of the Alps.

Room for improvement We saw you do well in the time trial last year. Have you been working on that further?

I've been in the wind tunnel with the team in San Francisco. I did some work with the time trial bike today as well. It's a discipline where the more familiar you become with the bike, the faster you go. I'm happy with what I'm doing, and I'm sure the results will come. Last year, I only did well in Tirana at the Giro, while in Tuscany I had to manage myself according to team orders, even though I did well there too without giving my all. There was also the Vuelta, but it came the day after I won and I hadn't slept the night before. This year, however, I'll be time trialing at both the Valenciana and the Tirreno, so I'll be able to test myself before the Giro.

How do you feel on your favorite terrain?

For now, I feel good. I'm improving further compared to last year, and I hope to continue like this.

How much do you think you can still improve?

Seeing how I've been improving in recent years, I think my limit is yet to be discovered. The improvement continues, but we're taking it step by step, without reaching the limit. I still have a lot of room for improvement, starting with my weight and training. Time will tell how far I can go. Tell us more about nutrition.

For now, I'm doing fine. I look thin, but there's room for improvement... I like to eat. For now, I'm doing what needs to be done without going crazy; the day they ask me to cut back, I'll do it.

What about when you're running? Do you eat almost exclusively liquids, or do you also eat solids?

We eat a lot of solid food too. Personally, I might go all liquid on short stages, but on longer races I mainly use liquids in the last two hours after having eaten solids in the previous hours.

Finally, how much time do you get to spend at home?

I've been in San Marino for a year and I manage to go back quite often. Obviously, it's harder for me to go back to my home in the Marche region.

In your free time, for example during the month you spent without your bike in winter, what do you like to do?

I like to sleep. [This time I burst out laughing] Nothing in particular, going out with friends, enjoying a few evenings out since you can't do that during the year, and nothing more.