Evenepoel wins, but knows Pogacar is still the king: "He's taken a step up since the Dauphiné"

His status as the top favorite didn’t bother Evenepoel. He eats pressure for breakfast, though he remained realistic beforehand. “You never know, because you know that big guys like Edoardo (Affini, ed.) will also do well on this kind of course,” said Evenepoel in the flash interview. “They can save a bit more energy in finales like yesterday’s. I knew I had a good chance, but your legs still have to be there. Everything has to go according to plan, and it did. I didn’t feel like I could go any faster, and I’m happy with the win. It’s the second for our team.”

Earlier, Tim Merlier won stage three, and now Soudal Quick-Step has pocketed their second victory with this time trial. The world and Olympic time trial champion paced it perfectly. “I think my biggest strength was being able to hold the same pace at the finish as in the first 10 kilometers. I kept the tempo high, and we saw in the intermediate checks that I kept getting better and gained time in the last 7 or 8 kilometers. I paced it perfectly, everything was on point.”

In Caen, the 25-year-old Belgian put a massive 1 minute and 21 seconds into Vingegaard, moving ahead of the Dane from Visma | Lease a Bike in the general classification. But Pogacar – who finished second – remains ahead of him. The Slovenian showed that his weaker time trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné was just an exception. "Tadej was very strong today as well. With just 17 seconds between us, that’s only half a second per kilometer. Compared to the Dauphiné time trial, he’s taken a step forward. He’s shown he’s in top form. He’s the man to beat in this Tour de France."

Before the Tour, Evenepoel said he was aiming for the podium, believing Pogacar and Vingegaard might be out of reach. "Compared to the others, I did what I needed to do, taking as much time as possible on them in the GC. I think it’s a bit like last year with the time trial. I’m happy with that, it’s a big step towards the podium. But the Tour is still long: I’m just very happy with my performance today."

Evenepoel’s current position is excellent, and without the time loss on stage 1, he’d be just seconds away from the yellow jersey. But he remains cautious. "The Tour doesn’t end here, obviously. Everyone knows what’s coming – next week and the week after. There’s still a lot to do, but it’s always nice to take a stage win. It means the stage hunters in our team have already won, so we can relax a bit more now. The full focus is on the podium in Paris now."