Remco Evenepoel remains on the podium and regains the white jersey ahead of the race’s second individual time trial.
The first mountain day of this edition came in the Pyrenees with one of the hardest summit finishes France has to offer, the Hautacam (13.5km, 7.8%), which featured at the end of a fast and incredibly hot stage that took its toll on many riders.
Col de Soulor was the first difficulty of stage 12, and there, some eight kilometers from the top, Remco Evenepoel was dropped. The former World Champion didn’t panic, and with the help of an incredible Ilan Van Wilder, he managed to make up ground on his way to the summit of this ascent. On the descent and the short flat section leading to the next climb – Col des Bordères, a rather short but steep one – Evenepoel continued to use his remarkable time trial skills to inch his way back before cresting remarkably erasing a 1:15 deficit in the space of just 20 kilometers to rejoin the other favourites in the valley before Hautacam.
This beast of a climb, which made only its seventh appearance at the Tour de France, was where the favourites group split again, this time for good, leaving every man for himself out there. It was a tough day of racing, but Remco fought hard and showed the mental of a great champion, never giving up, braving the heat and continuing to push himself on the gruelling gradients of the Hautacam until the finish, where he concluded seventh behind stage winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) for his fourth top ten at this edition.
“I didn’t have the best legs and feeling today. The pace was hard the entire day and I lost contact with the others, but I was lucky to have Ilan by my side and he was of great help, followed by Max, who took over after dropping back from the break, that’s why I want to say a big thank you to my team for their support.”
“It was hard and I suffered, but I gave my best, kept fighting and clawed my way back to the front. It was just sheer determination that kept me going. Then, on the last ascent, I climbed at my own pace and I’m glad I could remain on the overall podium after this brutal stage. Now I hope to put these bad feelings behind me and do a good time trial on Friday, as it’s going to be an important day for the general classification, and then I will just continue to take it day by day”, an upbeat Remco said after the stage.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
