About 30 minutes before the start of the final stage of the Volta ao Algarve in Lagoa, as Directeur Sportif Tom Steels was talking to reporters outside the Quick Step Alfa Vinyl, he heard a voice coming from the doorway of the team bus.

"Hey, leave the sporting director alone.

With a lead of over a minute in the overall standings, Evenepoel could afford to relax. And that serenity continued during the final part of the afternoon's five-day race as the peloton tackled the short, steep double climb of the Alto de Marhão.

The first Malhão climb split the yellow jersey group, and on the second climb Evenpoel chose to take control at the front. After allowing teammates Yves Lampère and Louis Verweke to set the tempo at the base of the climb, Evenpoel accelerated in the middle of the climb, with only four riders able to follow.

From there he led them all the way to the last 200 meters, just as Miguel Indurain had neutralized the climbers by gradually roasting them with his wheel.

By the time Sergio Iguita (Bora-Hansgrohe) took the stage win ahead of countryman Daniel Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers), Evenepoel had already taken his second overall win in the Volta ao Algarve and the eighth of his career.

"I could see the best climbers in the race were still with me, but I felt they didn't want to make any moves, probably until the final sprint. Maybe they knew they couldn't win GC anymore," Evenpoel said as he waited for the final podium.

"We knew the last 200 meters would be pretty flat, so we decided to go fast and hard towards the finish. So the racers started sprinting.

The final margin of victory, 1:17 over Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) and 1:21 over Martinez, was built during Saturday's 32.2 km time trial to Tavira. Evenepoel put in a remarkable performance, averaging 1.2 km/h faster than his closest rival, European champion Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ).

Evenpoel, who won that title himself in his debut pro season in 2019, has long been evident as a ruler, but now tends to focus more on time trials as a weapon in stage races.

In 2020, Evenpoel laid down a marker in the Volta Ao Algarve, accelerating without pause to win at the top of the Alto da Foia; two years later, he curbed his usual instincts, preferring instead to sit on his wheels on that climb and wait for the time trial. The hasty young man now seems to be learning the value of patience.

"I think I've improved a lot on the time trial," he said. On the climbs, I just follow along and survive. If I can make a time, I will, but I don't have to: I just follow and stay with the front group."

"I knew I could make time at the front, like today for example. Because of my efforts in the middle part of the climb, I felt I no longer had fresh legs for the sprint.

"The plan before the race was to get through the mountain stages, both here and in the Alto da Foix. And in the time trial, I needed to beat my rivals' times as much as possible. And in the time trial, I needed to time my rivals as much as possible. "

After his stage win at this month's Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Evenpoel sets his sights on March's Tirreno Adriatico, where he will face Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) in his first career stage race.

Of Evenpoel's previous stage race successes (including two Baloise Belgian Tours and the Vuelta a Burgos), only the 2020 Tour de Pologne has been at the World Tour level. He suggested that next month's race in Italy marks a new stage in his rapid maturation.

"My main goal was to arrive in good shape in Tirreno and I feel I am improving," Evenpoel said.

"I want to do well in the World Tour races. Tirreno is a very good race to win and I will go there with a strong team. It's good for my development as a climber and GC rider to do a hard stage race every time."

When asked about his chances of winning the overall, Evenpoel prioritized focusing on the opening stage, a 13.9km time trial on the Lido di Camaiore.

"I will try to win the time trial," he said. That's my first goal."