Museeuw saw 'tactically perfect' Visma at the Tour de France, but is less optimistic about Evenepoel

Is it already possible to take stock of the Tour de France? Jonas Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike won the team time trial and gained time on their main rivals. Tadej Pogacar has some ground to make up, but Johan Museeuw, the 'Lion of Flanders', explains exactly what the performances in the first stage mean for the top contenders.

The Belgian didn’t see Visma | Lease a Bike’s victory as a surprise, even though other teams might have brought more time trialists. “It’s a team that has everything down to a fine point in terms of preparation,” Museeuw explained to La Dernière Heure. “They have experience, and tactically, they were flawless. It also means that Vingegaard is in good form: he’s ready.”

Museeuw notes that the victory on day one is a good sign, given Vingegaard’s unusual and new preparation. “Mentally, this victory is very important for him after his Giro win. It means his recovery since then has gone well. I think Visma will now control the race and try to hold onto the yellow jersey in the coming days.”

But they’ll have to contend with a rock-solid UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the coming days. Tadej Pogacar might already be going full throttle in Barcelona, but he’s not the only one.

“UAE has a number of very strong riders, including many climbers. But for the time trial, they may have lacked a bit of quality. In the end, though, they didn’t lose much time. The real lesson for them is Isaac Del Toro.”

With him at Pogacar’s side, a lot is possible, Museeuw knows. “The Mexican has shown that he’s the best of the support riders. That means he’s also in good form. He’s a rider who—why not?—could launch attacks to claim the yellow jersey himself. Ultimately, this scenario is good for the Tour. No one wanted to see Pogacar in the yellow jersey from start to finish.”

Remco Evenepoel lost a little more time, but remains in the top five of the general classification, 19 seconds behind Vingegaard. The Belgian rider from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe put in a strong performance and managed to break away from fellow team leader Florian Lipowitz on the streets of the Catalan capital. According to Lance Armstrong, it was an excellent sign, but Museeuw remains cautious.

He wasn’t entirely blown away by the world time trial champion’s performance. “Evenepoel’s time trial wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. He’s a specialist in this discipline, but the team dynamics—which require perfect coordination—also played a role. Personally, I’m waiting for the first mountain stage to assess Remco’s form. It’s still far too early to draw any conclusions.”