With back-to-back victories, Evenepoel is coming into his own at the 2026 Tour de France: 'I’m trying to learn from him'

He was the clear favorite at the start, but on Tuesday we saw a very dominant Remco Evenepoel in the Tour de France time trial. The world time trial champion left everyone else in the dust, but did see his Red Bull teammate crash out. The stage winner shared his story afterward.

"It's amazing," Evenepoel began his story in the post-race flash interview. “It was a really beautiful time trial, with lots of people lining the route. My family was here—from both sides. It also happened to be Belgium’s national holiday; I read this morning that it had been a long time since a Belgian had won on that day. I’m proud to be the one to do it.”

But then there was also that hard crash by my teammate Lipowitz. “I was just told that my teammate Lipowitz had crashed. That’s a really bitter pill to swallow with this victory. I wish him all the best, and I hope it’s not too bad,” said the day’s winner, sounding a bit downcast.

"I also want to thank Specialized for all the new gear they provided me for this time trial," the world time trial champion continued. "That took a lot of work behind the scenes. To win this time trial... I’m very happy and proud of that. It’s incredible to win two stages in a row.”

Evenepoel felt good right from the start of the time trial. “For the first few kilometers, I still thought I might need to hold back a little. I have to say that Tadej was impressive, too. He was right on my heels the whole time, and it was quite a challenge to maintain that gap.”

"I'm really happy with how everything went today, but it's also a real shame that Lipowitz is out," the Belgian reiterated. "I'm really going to miss him in the final week. I also have to thank my entire team, as well as my family. It's been a while since I've competed at this level. It feels great to be riding in the Tour like this. There's still a long way to go, so we can't forget that."

Evenepoel really seems to be coming into his own in the Tour. Was that a "deliberate move"? “It’s no secret that the toughest stages come at the end. I wasn’t in super-super shape during the first week. I was good, but not great. I needed that first week to get back into the rhythm of racing,” the Red Bull rider said, analyzing his form.

Finally, Evenepoel still didn’t want to get ahead of himself—was he thinking about an overall victory? “To be honest, I’m not,” he said. I’m still focusing on my own position. Tadej is on his way to a fifth Tour de France victory. It’s just amazing that I can stay somewhat close to him. It’s an honor to race alongside him. He might just be the best ever. For me, just being anywhere near him is a huge step forward. I’m trying to learn from him. It’s truly an honor to race alongside him,” the Belgian concluded.