Evenepoel hopes Belgians won't be negative after roller coaster stage: 'I'd give myself a 9 out of 10'
CyclingTuesday, 14 July 2026 at 19:31
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Follow us on GoogleFor a moment, it looked like Remco Evenepoel might be one of the day’s losers in Stage 10 of the Tour de France. The Belgian rider from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe suddenly fell behind in the final stretch, even though the climb didn’t even seem that steep. All’s well that ends well, however, was the verdict at the finish line. Evenepoel finished second and, satisfied, hopped onto the rollers by the team bus.
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"The UAE team rode really hard all day, so I'm happy with second place," Evenepoel began his analysis to IDL Pro Cycling and others. As always, the Belgian had plenty to say. “I had a bit of a tough moment in the valley, but I kept up the pace and kept fighting. I eventually caught up on the descent.”
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Why did Evenepoel have to drop back from the first chasing group on what was, after all, ideal terrain for him? “We were taking turns at the front, but there were some tricky changes in pace. Sometimes someone would really push the pace, and I had a hard time keeping up with that. Maybe I should have pushed through for a moment to stay on the wheel, because in the end I got dropped and stayed at the same distance for a long time.”
"Just pedaling," Evenepoel said of his comeback, before the Red Bull team leader casually shot away and sprinted to second place and 6 bonus seconds. "I don't know if I necessarily found any extra strength anywhere, because I did recover quickly from today's efforts. I rode a good descent, during which I wasted little energy. Maybe I saved some energy there."
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Evenepoel could challenge Vingegaard in the Tour de France
Evenepoel was familiar with the sprint from 2024, when he finished third behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. Now he’s moved up a spot and seems to be in a position to truly challenge Vingegaard for second place in the general classification. In Stage 10, the two were still allies. “We all agreed to ride behind Tadej, but he apparently still had something left in the tank in the final 3 kilometers.”
On paper, everything looks fine for Evenepoel, but after the Tourmalet, he also faltered briefly in Stage 10. The Belgians wondered: will that continue in the mountains at the end of this week and in the third week? “I had a tough time in the valley, where it was scorching hot and I was pushing my limits. But on the steepest climb of the day, I felt good. I even thought for a moment about going for it with Tadej.”
"I don't think I'm any less than the rest," said Evenepoel, who offered some advice to his fellow Belgians. "I hope people don't focus on the negative, as is typical in Belgium. Above all, we need to stay positive about today. In the general classification, I’m gaining time on Isaac del Toro, though he’s a strong rider who could still make a move. I’d give myself a 9 out of 10. If I hadn’t been dropped, I would have given myself a 10.”
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Evenepoel had to sit back for a moment, but fought back in the sprint.
Evenepoel and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe saw their rivals pushing the limits
It wasn’t just Evenepoel who was pushing the limit in the final stretch of Stage 10; the team leader and his director, Klaas Lodewyck, saw all the riders behind Pogacar gritting their teeth. “The Lidl-Trek riders were constantly at their limit and did nothing but chase. Jonas, Paul Seixas, Florian (Lipowitz, ed.), and I put in a lot of work. I wouldn’t call myself the best of the rest just yet.”
According to Lodewyck, the fact that Evenepoel remained calm when he briefly fell behind was a good sign. “It was clear today that if you pushed yourself too hard, you’d pay for it.” Remco gave it his all on that descent after the climb where Pogacar pulled away, and that’s why he had to drop back briefly in the valley. He kept fighting hard, and in the end, you could see that Vingegaard dropped back after leading the pack. The pace was insane.'
"Behind Tadej, we'll see a lot of favorites in this Tour who do something extraordinary and then hit a rough patch a few minutes later," Lodewyck says. "It’s a good thing Remco didn’t crack. You’re racing for every second, and in the end, he still managed to gain a few valuable seconds on Vingegaard. There’s still a lot of hard work ahead, and we’ll have to take it day by day."
"With Remco and Lipowitz, we're right where we want to be; we can really start playing with two pawns," he concluded. “Everyone took what they could get today; you really have to be careful about how much effort you put in. Today was a good example of that, for us as well. We have to stick to our own course and not look at others.”
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- - Podio en París todavía abierto. Tadej parece intocable, pero el resto está a segundos. Vamos Juan, día a día.jeremya14-07-2026
- - Not sure the article gives Red Bull-BORA enough credit. They did a ton of work earlier and it kind of gets brushed aside. Feels a tad biased toward UAE’s narrative.pedalpowe2914-07-2026
- - Question: if Ayuso is in white now, what happens if Del Toro bounces back on the next mountain stage? Is white decided purely on cumulative time for U25 over all stages or are there tie-breakers?breakawaybikerd14-07-2026
- - Love the honesty from Juan about not being able to pull through with Vinge. That valley surge was brutal. Also, Lidl-Trek tactics looked spot on today, proper front-foot racing.jennifer1914-07-2026
- - Huge ride from Ayuso and Skjelmose. Sitting on Jonas’ wheel at 450–460w in the valley is insane after that parcours. White jersey back in the bag, GC up to 4th — textbook damage control.raceready714-07-2026
- - Muy bien artículo, pero un poco repetitivo sobre “valley” y “descent”. Still, great insight from Lodewyck about not overcooking it behind Tadej.breakawaybikerd14-07-2026
- - Loved the honesty about the pacing changes. Those micro-attacks wreck your legs more than a steady threshold pull. He’ll need the team to smooth that out in the third week.robert6514-07-2026
- - What does “playing with two pawns” mean? Is that like having two leaders? Do teams actually attack with domestiques this late in a stage?samanthak14-07-2026
- - “Best of the rest” chat feels premature. Vinge was marking moves, not all-in. Let’s see after the next true HC summit finish before crowning anything.cyclechamp4514-07-2026
- - Remco’s post-stage comments are spot on: focus on the positives. Gained on Del Toro, limited losses to Pogačar, and looked composed. He’s learning Tour craft fast at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.gearguru3314-07-2026
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