Despite the continuous spotlight on the fierce rivalry between the top UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike competitors, Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), has been making significant strides. From stage 14 onwards, he has held onto third place with a notable margin—over seven minutes ahead of João Almeida in fourth place. Wearing the white jersey by an eight-minute lead, Evenepoel’s first Tour de France could have been a headline event if not overshadowed by the performances of Pogačar and Vingegaard.
A critical moment in stage 17 illustrated Evenepoel’s edge over his closest competitors, when Almeida and Carlos Rodríguez of Ineos Grenadiers fell behind by over two minutes. Meanwhile, Evenepoel improved his time by 12 seconds against both Pogačar and Vingegaard.
Evenepoel shared his strategic insights post-stage, stating, “I did a recon of this course so I knew how everything looked like. I knew the climbs were pretty steep. It looked like it was going to be an easy finish for the GC favourites, but in the end, a little trick, fire it up. Tadej attacked 1.5km from the top of the penultimate climb, my legs were pretty good to react. Maybe I reacted a little bit too late again, and I was not on the wheel, but we came back on the descent, so that was good. I had a very strong Jan Hirt in the front group, that waited for me. I jumped towards him, and he dropped me off with 1km to go and I went all in.”
He further commented on the stage’s outcome, “It showed that we were tactically strong today, the whole team was very good today. The first part with the crosswinds, we were always in the front, we had someone in the break, and then my legs were pretty good as well, so I’m satisfied with today’s stage.”
Regarding the gains made, Evenepoel said, “It’s not that much time. My main goal is not to drop those guys, or to take as much time on them, my goal is to take as much time on the guys behind me. That mission was pretty much accomplished. I have to be happy with where I am, with the feeling, and I hope I can keep this level up, because I’ll need it on stage 19 and 20. I think for now, we can be super happy with what we’ve done today.”
Evenepoel emphasized the importance of maintaining focus, “I think we have to stay focused on our main goal, and that’s the podium spot. I think what I did today was perfect, I was up there with the two best GC riders in the world. I could drop them for a bit on that last climb, and in the end, I’m a bit stronger in third. For the moment we’re doing very well, the whole team is very motivated. Everything is working well, and I hope it keeps going like this for another three days, and then it’s all by myself in the TT.”
Looking ahead, Evenepoel noted the upcoming challenges, “There are still quite some mountains to go. An off day can always be there, but I think how everything is looking right now, I’m not going to have an off day. I’m confident, but feet on the ground and keep working.”
Evenepoel, at 24 years old and already a two-time world champion, is navigating his debut Tour de France impressively. Will he manage to beat the main protagonists again?
