The Belgian put in another convincing ride on an incredible day of racing.
Remco Evenepoel showed grit, determination and a fantastic never-say-die attitude on what went down as the most explosive stage of the race so far, a 211km trek through the Massif Central which ended up having a bigger impact on the general classification that the mythical Col du Galibier, one week ago.
After five hours of breathless racing, gruelling gradients, more than 4000 vertical meters and insane speeds, Soudal Quick-Step’s leader demonstrated calmness, pulling off a massive performance. Evenepoel, who is racing his maiden Tour de France, was distanced on Pas de Peyrol – the hardest climb of the day, averaging 8.1% over 3.8 kilometers – but never gave up and recovered well on the descent and the remaining two climbs, where he joined Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe).
Despite trailing by around 50 seconds going into the final 15 kilometers, Remco rode his own pace that allowed him not only to increase the gap over the first chasing group, but also to mount a remarkable recovery on the roads to Le Lioran. On the last climb, the 24-year-old custodian of the white jersey managed to claw back time on his way to an impressive third place, just 25 seconds down on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who took the stage win after outsprinting Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
“Everybody knows the first two guys are on another level, so I’m satisfied with today. It was very fast and explosive from the start, a relentless stage from kilometer zero all the way until the finish. Maybe I wasn’t quite at my best, because I struggled a bit when the attacks came with 30 kilometers to go, but I didn’t panic and just rode my own rhythm.”
“It was hard out there, but I continued pushing and believing, trying my best to make up ground. I didn’t lose too much time today, so I need to be content with how things turned out. I also took time on the other guys and increased my margin in the general classification while retaining second place, so I can say it was a good stage. We need to remain focused, continue to do our best and build on these very good results”, an upbeat Remco said after taking his 36th white jersey in a Grand Tour.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
