Remco Evenepoel and
Paul Seixas have noticed that
Tadej Pogačar and
Isaac del Toro are potentially in trouble. The dominant pair at this Tour de France aren’t receiving as much support right now as they did during the first two weeks. The riders in second and fourth place in the GC seem to smell blood, now that the riders in first and third place are
dealing with illness within the team. Not ideal, with two days of
Alpe d'Huez ahead...
Of course, Evenepoel had also noticed that, in
the final stretch of Stage 18, UAE really only had Felix Grossschartner left to support Pogacar and Del Toro, neither of whom were showing any signs of illness themselves. Brandon McNulty, however, had to
withdraw due to illness, while Adam Yates and Tim Wellens finished among the last riders as domestiques. Florian Vermeersch is also injured.
"It's not pleasant to head into the coming days in a situation like this," Evenepoel said by the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team bus after a good day for the Belgian in Stage 18. Red Bull even briefly took the lead, but never really managed to hold on to it. “Getting sick can happen—it’s happened to me before. In that case, you just have to tough it out. We’ll have to see if we can use it to our advantage.”
As long as Pogačar and Del Toro don’t slow down, Evenepoel has little to gain. Although he does have two mountain stages coming up, where a strong team can make a difference. “I’m not going to take any reckless risks that could jeopardise my second-place position. Decathlon CMA CGM will now do everything in its power to knock Del Toro out of third place. They’ll be checking to see if he’s sick, too.”
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Seixas aims for the Tour de France
With attackers sensing an opportunity and general classification teams looking to test UAE, Evenepoel expects two mountain stages without much control. “It will change the dynamics of the race. I’m looking forward to Alpe d’Huez, though it can sometimes be scary how narrow the road
gets because of the fans. Hopefully they’ll put up ropes and barriers starting at the base for the final 5 kilometers. We’ll see just how extreme it is.”
Seixas, who has been wearing a face mask throughout the Tour de France, did indeed admit after Stage 18 that he has his sights set on the podium. “I feel good; the third week is going great,” said the
19-year-old Frenchman. “You have to pace yourself in the third week, but we’re riding well, and Daan Hoole was impressive today. There are two tough stages coming up; that’s where the Tour will definitely be decided.”
Seixas hopes that Pogačar and Del Toro stay fit and that the top four can battle it out head-to-head for three podium spots. “Hopefully everything goes well on Alpe d’Huez, because it can be dangerous there. It’ll come down to the legs. It’s a shame that some of the guys on the UAE team aren’t feeling well; I hope Tadej and Isaac don’t get sick. That’s not how we want to race.”