Remco Evenepoel is enjoying his Tour de France debut, despite the expectations weighing on his young shoulders and the race fatigue slowly accumulating in his legs.
Evenepoel’s victory in the stage 7 time trial ahead of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was arguably the most prestigious time trial victory of his career, even more prestigious than his 2023 time trial world championship title.
For Evenepoel, the Tour de France is a new experience and a new success. He wants to make the most of it and seems to have fallen in love with the biggest race in the sport.
“I’ll never come back, I hate it,” he joked when asked about his tour debut.
“I’m just kidding, of course. I’m enjoying every minute of the Tour. After one week of racing, I’m second overall. I’m enjoying it, I’m relaxed and winning a stage is very special. I’m happy and honored to be here and to compete with the biggest and the best. I will definitely come back. I have no other choice…”
Evenepoel rode in the white jersey of the best young rider but confirmed he is the world time trial champion with a superb performance, despite a scary moment when he thought he had a puncture. He was fastest at all three time controls, beating Pogačar by 12 seconds, Roglic by 34 seconds and Vingegaard by 37 seconds and closing the gap in the Tour de France general classification.
“The level was great today, the gaps were small and that’s why this is a great victory. My whole family is here too, which makes it even more special. I will never forget this victory,” he said, his voice shaking slightly with excitement.
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“I expected Tadej to stay close behind me. He is one of the best chrono riders in Grand Tour racing and difficult to beat. I can only be satisfied and we have to build on that.”
Evenepoel could aim for a podium finish, but is keeping his ambitions in check, at least for now. He sees Pogačar as the winner of the Tour, who will dominate the mountain stages but is not willing to completely accept defeat.
“Tadej is in a different class and I think he should win the Tour de France quite easily. Tadej is practically unbeatable. But you never know…”
After his tremendous performance in the time trial, Evenepoel can enjoy a quiet day in the peloton on stage eight from Semur-en-Auxios to Colombey-les-deux-Eglises on Saturday, as the sprinters are expected to control the attacks.
The next big day for Evenepoel and his general classification rivals is on Sunday, with the gravel stage starting and finishing in Troyes. The 199km stage includes 47km and 14 gravel sections. The final six sections are squeezed into the final 35km, posing a real challenge for the general classification contenders.
Evenepoel has often criticised the gravel stages in grand tours, but his love of the Tour de France means he is ready to race on Sunday.
“It’s going to be a tough stage. I know the Paris-Nice region, the roads just go up and down,” he said.
“The gravel sections are not as dangerous compared to, for example, Strade Bianche or the Giro d’Italia 2021. I have explored it and some sections are tough, with steep starts, but this is a very nice gravel stage.
“It will be important to be in a good position all day. It’s a long stage and it comes after nine days, so the legs will be tired.”
“You could say that this is not a stage that can win the Tour, but if you are unlucky at the wrong moment it can lead to you losing the Tour.
“If everything goes normally, there won’t be any big gaps between the favorites in the overall standings, or maybe even none at all. But we have to be prepared and ready for a big day of racing.”
