“Evinpoel is still racing with his gut feeling, but he also has to maintain his strength if he wants to reach the podium.”

Mixed feelings for Remco Evenepoel after the gravel ride. He himself spoke of a missed opportunity, but in our Tour podcast, Sven Nys also saw how fragile that opportunity was.

“Except for Mikel Landa, everyone around him left very quickly. Maybe that’s why he said: I’m the only one here, so I’m trying to isolate the others as well. But that game just didn’t happen.”

“We can be happy with Remco’s mood,” adds Serge Pauwels. “He’s still racing with his gut feeling. However, he’ll also have to keep his strength if he wants to get on the podium in Nice.”

How realistic is that stage? “I currently estimate him to be among the top three riders in this Tour, but in second or third place, because Pogacar is standing out.”

“The question is how these three riders will develop throughout this Tour. Pogacar already has the Giro in his legs, and his arsenal of power can’t be endless, can it? That’s what Evenepoel and Vingaard are hoping for.”

“You can assume that the level of the latter two is rising after that collapse in the Basque Country. If all that happens effectively, we will have a nice fight.”