The Belgian remains on the GC podium after taking second in Valloire.
Remco Evenepoel produced a tremendous display on the first mountain stage of the race, which took the peloton from Pinerolo – the site of a legendary Fausto Coppi victory at the 1949 Giro d’Italia – to Valloire, on French soil. Sestrières, Col du Montgenèvre and the Galibier made for an important and early test that ended up shaking up the general classification.
Soudal Quick-Step showed an impressive collective strength on the ascents, keeping a number of riders around Remco Evenepoel, who was enjoying his second day in the white jersey. When the pace changed at the front on the slopes of the Galibier, the peloton was whittled down to around 15 men, including Remco and Mikel Landa, who continued to ride flawlessly and match the sustained pace despite the high altitude and strong headwind.
The first attack came one kilometer from the top, when Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) accelerated and opened a gap. Only Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) had the power to go after the Slovenian, cresting the summit just a few seconds behind. The roads were wet in the first part of the descent, and that slowed the Belgian a bit, who was caught by the chasing group and briefly dropped.
On the outskirts of Valloire, where the Tour returned after five years, Remco bridged across and took over the front, driving a high tempo under the flamme rouge and then accelerating in sight of the finish line to take runner-up after outsprinting his opponents and score his first ever podium at the race. It was a confidence-boosting result for Evenepoel, who jumped to second overall and strengthened his grip on the white jersey. The Belgian is joined in the top ten by his teammate Mikel Landa, whose solid ride helped him make a huge jump in the rankings, up to seventh.
“I am satisfied with my day. It was the first mountain stage of the race, we went to high altitude and had a lot of meters of climbing. The team did a great job, we were up there and can be content with the way we rode. When the attacks came on the steepest part of the Galibier, I did my best to limit the losses, and on the descent, I tried to come back, but the roads were a bit sketchy and I lost some time there. Despite this, I continued to fight and I’m quite happy with my second place on the stage. It’s a good result for the morale and we’ll look to build on this”, said Evenepoel after what was one of his most impressive displays in the mountains.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
