Remco Evenepoel: "Glad I didn't give up and throw everything away"

“My legs were just heavy. I didn’t feel great, certainly not how I had hoped to feel going into the first two climbs. So I immediately decided to settle into my own pace,” said the wearer of the white jersey, which he took over from Ben Healy, about the moment he had to let go on the Col du Soulor.

“At first, I rode quite slowly. Then Ilan Van Wilder set the pace, and after that I was able to accelerate. So maybe it was good to slow down a bit,” said Evenepoel, who may have been lucky that Visma | Lease a Bike slowed down because Matteo Jorgenson had to drop back.

“I descended as fast as I could, taking quite a few risks. Then I pushed really hard on the uphill section to close the gap as quickly as possible. After the summit, it was twenty seconds. Then I threw myself downhill again like a stone,” Evenepoel told Sporza about the moment he was able to catch up again.

On the Hautacam, the Belgian was also forced to let go pretty quickly. “There, it was a matter of finding my own pace as quickly as possible. The difference with Tadej Pogacar is huge, but it's not too bad compared to the rest. Overall, I'm satisfied that I persevered and didn't give up, despite the challenges I faced. This was the best way for me to ride today,” said Evenepoel.

The Belgian is now third, with a 49-second lead over the strong Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. “I have to focus on myself, because I'm still ahead of him. Tomorrow's climbing time trial will be a battle against myself, but that goes for everyone. So I'm going to try to recover well and hope that this was my worst day. I'm going to give it my all tomorrow and try to solidify my podium spot a little more. Then we'll see where I stand tomorrow evening.”