Evenepoel rushes to team bus, but not because of time loss: "Those few seconds are negligible"

Evenepoel remained alert throughout the day and wasn't caught off guard by the accelerations from Visma | Lease a Bike, among others. On the final climb, he even chose to attack: for a moment, it looked like he was getting some space, but in the end, his big rivals were right back on his wheel. But that doesn't matter, says sports director Klaas Lodewyck. “Overall, he had a good day,” the Belgian told Het Laatste Nieuws. “Those few seconds are negligible after such a stage, in which the riders pushed so hard again.”

Evenepoel's attack gave Belgian fans hope. “We briefly considered letting him attack earlier, but we decided to wait because of the wind. After that, Pogacar and Vingegaard rode away impressively, but in the end, everything stayed close together.” The Olympic champion is, therefore, going into the rest day feeling positive. “Remco is satisfied and felt good all day.”

In the final, he was assisted by Valentin Paret-Peintre, who dropped back from the leading group. “It was nice to be in the breakaway with my brother at the beginning of the stage,” he said on his team's social media. Aurelièn, rider for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, was also there. "It was another fast ride. In the end, I thought about Remco all day because it was an important stage for the GC. I was at the front, but it was for him. In the end, I wasn't strong enough to fight for the win."

He was able to help his Belgian team leader for a short time on the final climb, but it wasn't for long. “I stayed with Remco for a while to give him a bottle or something, but it wasn't a big job.” His legs were exhausted after a hectic day, but the French climber remains confident, especially with the challenging mountain stages ahead in week 2. “It was a fast day, and the climbs weren't very long or steep. It wasn't perfect for me, but I think the Pyrenees will be better.”