Soudal-QuickStep are building in confidence that Remco Evenepoel can possibly aim higher than the podium and mount a real challenge to Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) for the Tour de France yellow jersey.
Already in the lead of the Critérium du Dauphiné thanks to a stunning stage 4 time trial, Evenepoel heads into Friday’s first mountain test to Combloux with a 16-second lead over the Dane and a 38-second advantage to the world champion.
It’s after this test, Saturday’s brutal stage in the Alps, and the finale up Plateau du Mont-Cenis that the Belgian team say they will be able to determine whether their goal at the Tour extends further than last year. And Soudal-QuickStep, perhaps after the time trial domination, are getting more bullish by the day that Evenepoel can follow the two former Tour winners.
“I expect him to hold on. Whether that will be enough to win the classification is another question, but I believe Remco will do well,” said sports director Klaas Lodewyck to Het Laatste Nieuws at the Dauphiné.
“I think he has taken a step uphill. But whether that is really the case, we will see this weekend.
“In the Tour, the climbs are just a little bit longer, but if you can follow Pogačar or Vingegaard uphill here, that would be a good boost for morale. Then you go to the Tour without any question marks.”
Lodewyck even went so far as to state that Evenpeol staying with the pair, who have won the past five Tours between them, on the difficult trio of stages at the Dauphiné, would only make it “realistic” to aim for yellow in Paris.
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“After this weekend, you will know with what attitude you have to start the Tour. Maybe we can say on Sunday evening that we are going to try a little bit more than last year,” said the DS.
“If Remco can follow Pogačar and Vingegaard here, we will go for more than third place in Paris. [That’s] just being realistic.
“If you feel this weekend that you can compete, and you know that Remco can still improve a bit during his last training camp, then you can race a little differently in the Tour. Last year, we started with the idea that the competition was just a little too high for us.
“Remco only pushed a little when Pogačar and Vingegaard attacked, he quickly went for third place. By Sunday evening, you will know whether we can adjust that approach.”
Evenepoel wasn’t quite as bullish as his team, with more caution in his words ahead of the mountain stages, knowing full well that there will be lots of work left before the Tour, and that a poor showing could reduce the team’s aims back to reaching the podium as a maximum.
“Last year, after the Dauphiné, everyone thought that I wouldn’t be able to make it to the podium in the Tour, but I did it with a ten-minute lead over the fourth,” Evenepoel told HLN.
“Not all the answers will be there on Sunday evening. I will have a better idea of where I stand compared to Tadej and Jonas, but after that, there are still three weeks to work on any weak points. We will get answers, but not definitive answers.”
Evenepoel himself had laid down the gauntlet before the Dauphiné even started, telling media that he was “further ahead than last year” in terms of his shape and his weight, suggesting that an even higher level was incoming at the Tour. With five days of successful racing in the legs, his team can only repeat that point.
“His weight is already good and you can see that it pays off immediately in climbing. Last year, we were not where we wanted to be at this moment,” added Lodewyk.
“We still had to put a lot of energy into losing weight after the Dauphiné, towards the Tour. That is not the case now, and that ensures that you have a bit more energy left… which always makes a small difference.”
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