Showing an outstanding fighting spirit and determination, the Belgian cemented his place on the podium.
Ten years on from its previous appearance, Pla d’Adet made its Tour de France return, at the end of a tough stage 14 that also featured the iconic Col du Tourmalet and Hourquette d’Ancizan. The climb made famous in 1974 by Raymond Poulidor, who took a fantastic solo win from a field that included the likes of Eddy Merckx and Joaquim Agostinho, averaged 7.9% over 10.6 kilometers and ended up seriously testing the GC men.
Soudal Quick-Step was one of the strongest teams out there, and only one of the two to tackle the last HC ascent with more than three men. Remco Evenepoel, who started the day second in the overall standings, had Jan Hirt, Mikel Landa and Ilan Van Wilder with him as they started the steep gradients of Pla d’Adet. The Wolfpack pushed a solid tempo at the front, making sure Evenepoel remained in a good position on the first three kilometers, the toughest of the climb.
When the winners of the last four editions attacked with five kilometers to go, Remco at first tried to respond to these accelerations before deciding to ride his own tempo as he conjured up a valiant effort to limit the losses. This allowed the 24-year-old Belgian to keep enough in the tank for the final part of the stage, while at the same time opening a good gap on the first chasing group. Evenepoel concluded the stage won by Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) in third place – his fourth podium of this edition – and now sits in the same position on the general classification ahead of the second consecutive day in the Pyrenees.
“Third on this hard stage is a good result and I am satisfied, especially as the two guys who finished in front of me were stronger and have a lot more experience than me in these kinds of stages. The team did a great job the entire day, and especially on the final climb, and I want to thank them for that. To be on the podium on the first stage in the Pyrenees is an important morale-boost for Sunday’s stage. I have four minutes on the next rider in the rankings, which is good at the moment, but the Tour is still long and we need to remain at the top of our game and continue to give our best”, said Remco, who remained at the top of the youth classification.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
