Del Toro's previous Strava data shows us exactly how well Evenepoel was climbing on stage 15

Remco Evenepoel turned the Tour de France upside down with his incredible performance on the Plateau de Solaison. The Belgian rider from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe claimed victory by beating both Tadej Pogačar and Isaac Del Toro, winning his first road stage at the Tour. But just how impressive were his performances? The data on Strava speaks volumes.

It was UAE Team Emirates-XRG that set the pace on the Plateau de Solaison. Pogačar didn’t launch a blistering surge, but instead chose to help his teammate Del Toro reach the podium. They left everyone in their wake, except for Evenepoel: the Belgian remained ice-cold and fended off the Mexican’s attacks. In the sprint, the “Bullet from Schepdaal” then proved to be the strongest.

It was the first time the Tour de France had climbed the pass, located near the Swiss border. But many of the riders in this edition had already climbed the mountain once before. The Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, formerly the Critérium du Dauphiné, had already finished on the Plateau de Solaison this year. This route was also included in the Tour’s preparatory race in 2022 and 2017.

A month ago, the mountain played a key role: it was the finish line of the final stage of the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes. Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) was still wearing the yellow jersey, but was blown away by Del Toro. The Mexican accelerated early on the climb and pulled away by a minute from Juan Ayuso, who finished second. Del Toro had already scouted the mountain earlier with his teammate Pogačar.

Del Toro’s performance in June allowed us to paint a perfect picture of Evenepoel’s performance at the Tour. There isn’t a segment on Strava for the entire climb, but the final 9.8 kilometers are included. On that section, Del Toro clocked 28.06 minutes in the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, for an average speed of 21.1 kilometers per hour.

Del Toro started early, but so did he, Pogacar, and Evenepoel in the Tour. It’s no surprise, then, that the pace picked up. The Mexican champion struggled on his teammate’s wheel, but Evenepoel looked fantastic. He ultimately won the stage and was also the fastest: he completed the Strava segment in just 27:15.

It’s no surprise that he claimed a KOM (King of the Mountains). Pogacar was one second slower, but the time gaps behind him are significant. Paul Seixas finished in 28:12, and Lenny Martinez in 29:10. Matteo Jorgenson finished tenth in the stage of the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, but his time was 29:52—a full 2.37 minutes slower than Evenepoel’s.

Whatever happens now for Remco in this Tour de France, it's clear his climbing legs are the best they've ever been.