Evenepoel criticised for being 'too loyal to Pogačar'; after a fine 2nd place, analysts claim the Belgian can win yellow

Cycling
Sunday, 26 July 2026 at 17:16
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Remco Evenepoel will finish the Tour de France in second place in the overall standings. The Belgian rider from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe has shown tremendous form and also finished second in the queen stage. He might have been capable of even more. Belgian analysts are weighing in on this and also looking ahead to what the future holds for Evenepoel.
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Evenepoel accelerated in the final three kilometers and closed in on Richard Carapaz, but not quite enough. Should he have accelerated sooner? “It’s easy to say in hindsight,” explains Sven Vanthourenhout, team director of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, to Sporza. “At first, there was a battle between Decathlon CMA CGM and UAE Team Emirates for third and fourth place. Then you see the stage evolve into a final stretch where he did indeed come very close.”
The Belgian team director, who isn’t working for Evenepoel during the Tour, thinks that’s a bit easy for him to say. “I didn’t see it coming either. The time gap stayed at four to five minutes for a very long time. You knew Decathlon was going to make a move to challenge Del Toro for third place. He just didn’t have the legs for it.”
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Evenepoel himself was angry after stage 20, even lashing out at his team manager on Alpe d'Huez. But his anger soon subsided, replaced by a certain pride at his achievement.
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remco-evenepoel

Herygers: 'Evenepoel is very loyal to Pogačar'

Paul Herygers sees the situation a bit differently. He thinks that Evenepoel didn’t actually want to attack too early. Not because he was afraid of burning himself out, but for another reason. “I think he’s very loyal to Pogačar. He did exactly what Pogačar said yesterday. It’s as if he were telling the priest, ‘I promise eternal loyalty.’”
"I believe him, because he did the same thing in today’s race," the former cyclocross rider continues. He thinks that otherwise, Evenepoel would already have his third stage win under his belt. “I’m sure that if Remco had asked, ‘Seixas is out—can I go?’, it would have been possible, and he would have crossed the finish line with his hands in the air. Five kilometers earlier would have been enough,” Herygers concludes.
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remco-evenepoel

Evenepoel for yellow? 'We'll have to include a 50-kilometer time trial next year'

Jan Bakelants wanted to focus primarily on Evenepoel’s strong performance in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. The Belgian has improved on his third-place finish from 2024. “When we look at where he was two months ago, this is spectacular progress. The team really did a great job and stuck to their plan. Remco has taken a big step forward.”
Dirk De Wolf is also full of praise. He takes it a step further: he’s looking to the future and believes a Tour victory is within reach—with or without Tadej Pogacar. “They should include a 50-kilometer time trial next year. Then he won’t have to keep chasing. Then it’ll be Pogacar who has to chase Remco, who’ll be riding in the yellow jersey.”
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