Soudal Quick-Step’s riders enjoy a quiet day at the office.
Remco Evenepoel took to the podium at the end of stage 16 to receive his 15th consecutive white jersey, after safely concluding what was the last flat stage of this edition. Running from Gruissan to Nimes – the former Roman town which two thousand years ago had an important role on the Via Domitia that connected Italy with Hispania – this 188.6km trek saw a nervous peloton in the first hour of racing.
The reason for that was an echelon alert that kept the riders on their toes for around 50 kilometers, but as soon as they realised nothing was going to happen, the bunch relaxed and a one-man breakaway put two minutes into them. The chasers easily brought the day’s lone attacker back with more than 15 kilometers to go before preparing for the mass gallop, a hectic one, won by Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
The GC men should now return into the spotlight on Wednesday, where an uphill finish awaits at the end of the stage taking place between Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux and Superdévoluy. Third in the overall standings after a string of strong results in the high mountains, Evenepoel will start it with a solid gap in the youth classification.
“The peloton was a bit nervous today in the beginning, because of the crosswinds threat and a lot of road furniture, but I stayed out of trouble thanks to the great job of my teammates. Some big mountains will come in the next days, but I hope to keep my level and continue to give my best”, Remco said in Nimes.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
