A Tribute to Remco Evenepoel's Great Tour de France!

What an achievement by the still young Remco Evenepoel, finishing on the podium in his first Tour de France. Not many have gone before him. For Belgium, it has been since 1981 that someone stood on the final podium. That was Lucien van Impe, who won the Tour de France in 1976. Jurgen van den Broeck officially finished 5th in 2010, but due to the doping use of Alberto Contador and Denis Menchov, Van den Broeck moved up to 3rd place.

Enormous Pressure

It is at times visible that Remco Evenepoel rides with enormous pressure on his shoulders. How would you feel if you have lived with the expectation since your youth that you must win every race you start? Evenepoel bears the pressure of all Belgium on his shoulders. Belgium would so love to have another Tour winner, the last being Lucien van Impe in 1976. And, of course, we Belgians also live with the legacy of Eddy Merckx, who won the Tour five times.

A Different Remco This Tour, we saw a different Remco: relaxed, tactically very strong, better in the climbs, and positioning was no longer a problem. Despite finishing more than 9 minutes behind Tadej Pogacar and 3 minutes behind Jonas Vingegaard, you could see that he made an enormous step forward on long climbs of over 20 minutes. Where things used to go wrong, particularly above 2000m, Remco had no problem this time and could stick to the wheels of Pogacar and Vingegaard.

Future Tour Winner

Can Remco Evenepoel ever win the Tour de France? A good question, but analytically, it will be difficult, though not impossible. The first reason why it’s possible is his disrupted preparation after his heavy fall in the Tour of the Basque Country at the end of April. Additionally, this was his first Tour, and he had no experience with the whole circus. Indeed, he has experience with the pressure that comes with it, but in the Tour, there’s an extra layer of pressure, and the media attention is enormous compared to other races. My personal opinion is that it should be possible to win the Tour someday, considering all factors and the fact that Remco, in my view, still has room to grow. Since he has not been racing as long as Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, he can still grow a few percentages. So, in conclusion, yes! He can win the Tour de France one day.

Emotional After the Finish

Evenepoel was visibly emotional after his time trial, partly due to the enormous pressure he feels from Belgium, but also because the fall in the Tour of the Basque Country was a huge mental blow. You can say that Vingegaard's injuries were much worse, but you should not underestimate Evenepoel’s injuries, especially when you are preparing for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which was also a goal for Evenepoel.

It was a Tour to be very proud of. Remco Evenepoel has proven himself as a stage racer with the capabilities to win the Tour de France someday, and not many riders can say that. In his own words after the final time trial: “Now enjoy and from tomorrow, the focus is on the Olympic Games.”

4o