The Belgian is close to sealing third overall at his debut in the race.
Remco Evenepoel all but won the white jersey after the final mountain showdown of the Tour de France, which took place on Col de la Couillole, a hard first-category climb that many of the riders knew from its previous appearances in Paris-Nice and the Classic Alpes-Maritimes.
The short stage 20 was bananas from the off, the many attacks that came on the Col de Braus, the first ascent of the day leaving only 15 riders in the yellow jersey group. For a couple of moments there, it looked likely that they would go all the way to the line in this formation, but eventually the pace relented, which allowed the chasers to come back.
The many skirmishes that came before the top led to a breakaway being established before Col de Turini, the iconic ascent made famous not by the Tour de France’s previous visits, but by its presence on the course of the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. Their maximum gap hit five minutes, but it began tumbling down as soon as the Soudal Quick-Step boys picked up the pace Col de La Colmiane.
Gianni Moscon and Ilan Van Wilder emptied the tank, slashing the margin to three minutes, before Jan Hirt took over and further reduced the gap separating the bunch from the remaining escapees. When Mikel Landa – a runner-up earlier this season at the Volta a Catalunya – rode to the front of the group and set a ferocious tempo, that advantage crumbled to just one minute and paved the way for Remco’s attack. The white jersey made an important selection with eight kilometers to go, as only the two other riders on the podium could join him, but he didn’t stop there, accelerating again.
It was a pair of attacks which illustrated the admirable fighting spirit of the Belgian and his endless determination to do his best regardless of the scenario, a gutsy display that netted him fourth behind stage winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) ahead of Sunday’s challenging individual time trial from Monte Carlo to Nice which Remco will tackle with a lot of confidence: “I am content. I tried to put pressure on Jonas and don’t have any regrets after today. The team did an incredible job and I want to thank them for that. I did my best and I will try to do the same on what will be a hard final day of Le Tour. I know the roads from Paris-Nice and the recon I did and I am prepared to go all-in and fight for the stage victory.”
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
