What’s really going on with Remco Evenepoel after his Tour withdrawal? "Yet another blow"

It was already clear on Friday that the Belgian was not in top form. In the climbing time trial to Peyragudes, Evenepoel lost time to his opponents and was even overtaken by Jonas Vingegaard, who had started two minutes later. After the time trial, the Soudal Quick-Step leader was still third in the general classification, but at a considerable distance from the numbers one and two, Tadej Pogacar and Vingegaard.

So it was anyone's guess what would happen to Evenepoel on Saturday's tough mountain stage through the Pyrenees. It soon became clear when the Belgian had to let go on the first slopes of the Tourmalet. The cameras caught a frustrated Evenepoel, who initially seemed to be riding at his own pace.

Shortly afterward, however, we saw him fall behind, while the groups passing him were ignored. It seemed that Evenepoel's Tour adventure had come to an end, which we saw confirmed a little later on camera. The Belgian got into the car, but not before making a very nice and sporting gesture. He gave a bidon to a child who was riding alongside him on the road. A wonderful gesture in such a difficult moment!  

After the stage, Evenepoel shared his thoughts with Sporza, among others. "It just wasn't working. There was nothing in it. You can have a bad day now and then, but three in a row is not normal. It was the best option to stop," said the Belgian, who is searching for a cause. "I have no idea, we'll have to investigate that now. Everyone knows I had a terrible winter, but... Who knows, maybe there's something wrong with my body? I can't say."

“I haven't been able to do any training in the run-up to the Tour. I couldn't handle any intensity,” Evenepoel said. “Is it fatigue? Is my body not good enough this year? It could be anything. I don't feel bad off the bike, but on the bike it's not working. I can't push like I normally do.”

And now? Evenepoel does not consider his Tour a lost cause. “I won a stage and was in third place for a long time. Until today, everything looked pretty good. However, it deteriorated further. Today was really bad. I could have finished in the gruppetto, but who knows, that might have made my body even more exhausted. Then I wouldn't be able to compete in September.”

“It's been a tough year. I had to stay off the bike for a long time. I built up my strength to be in the best possible shape for the start. But in the end, it all fell apart again. Yet another blow," he concludes.