🎥 Evenepoel enjoys a calm day, but is shocked by van der Poel's story: "Really? No way!"

It was a grueling ride, with a very high average speed over many meters of elevation gain. But Evenepoel handled it all very well. “I felt pretty recovered after yesterday, and everything went smoothly,” he told NOS after the race. “So I'm pleased with how I feel and with the result, and I think we have a great winner today. And a nice yellow jersey, too,” he said, referring to Mathieu van der Poel, who took the lead from Tadej Pogacar after just one day.

The Dutchman from Alpecin-Deceuninck was in the early breakaway and had to fight very hard for the yellow. He ultimately finished 1 second ahead of Pogacar. After the finish, Evenepoel and Van der Poel spoke to each other, and the Belgian almost fell over when he heard the news. “What? Really? No way!” was Evenepoel's reaction to the slim margin his friend had secured. “Did we get that close, or did you get dropped?” Van der Poel confirmed this, after which the white jersey added: “He sprinted again, didn't he, that Pogacar.”

With the victory in the time trial secured, the Olympic champion is approaching the rest of the Tour with confidence. "A lot. I think that, especially after Saturday’s poor start, I gained a lot of confidence yesterday. That can only be good for the rest of the race because I’m going to need it." Should we consider Remco Evenepoel? “Not for the GC, but I don't think it changes anything in terms of my ambitions for the podium. That is definitely my ultimate goal, and hopefully, I can win a nice stage at some point. That's my intention.”

A new opportunity awaits on Friday, with the finish on the Mur-de-Bretagne. The good legs in Normandy are a promising sign. "As I said, I felt good. Everything went well; I didn't really have any problems, not even at the start. That's only positive because tomorrow is another important day." After the challenging seventh stage, it will be a matter of survival again, as there are two flat stages before the climbs resume on July 14.