Remco Evenepoel appears calm at the start of the third stage of the Giro del Dauphiné 2024. Having remained passive yesterday at the arrival of the Col de la Loge, the Belgian preferred prudence in a finale in which he felt he could not be competitive given the presence of many riders explosives. Having thus granted a few seconds to men like Primoz Roglic (Bora-hansgrohe) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma|Lease a Bike), the Soudal Quick-Step leader expects a race along the same lines today, with a sprint again in which they could find room for fast men, who would make him give up trying again. But he is still open to more solutions, ready to keep the situation under control in a stage that he expects to be challenging. In the meantime, he looks to the time trial with confidence…
The first test yesterday, how did it go for you?
Pretty harsh, honestly. There was great pace all day, with a tailwind. Bora and Israel set a great pace and we immediately put stress on our legs. Let’s see how they respond today, but I think it will be a similar scenario. Some explosive riders, but also Pedersen, can resist today, so it will be tough again
How did the body respond after yesterday?
Ok at the moment. I slept a lot, last night I was very tired. I feel that the race pace is starting to make itself felt and that’s positive. Let’s see day by day, but for now it’s going well for me. On the bike everything is fine. I’m a bit sore in the evening… fortunately we have a good physiotherapist who follows us here too and takes care of me. At the moment everything is fine, I think I can be happy with how things are going.
Why were you not in front for the sprint yesterday at the end?
I’m looking for answers from my body. I felt good at the end, but not enough to make the sprint. Let’s see what will happen today. For me, Ilan and Mikel it will be important to stay in front, so as not to lose seconds. Let’s see if we will make the sprint, but if Cort and Pedersen are there, it makes no sense to make the sprint. However, it will be a challenging finish, so we need to see how the race goes and then we will decide how to move
What do you expect?
I think many will want to go on the run, even after seeing that the escapees almost made it yesterday. There are good chances for the attackers today too, so I expect a big fight. The climb in the middle could be treacherous because it is far away, but then it is not very hard. So if a strong group starts it could go like the Games, when the four reached the end. If the race is under control, I don’t think much will happen, but if no one controls the situation then something special could come of it
What do you expect from the time trial tomorrow?
Fortunately it won’t be a very long test, it will be 45-50 minutes, so I think I can give everything until the end. But we have to see how the shoulder will feel, if it hurts or if I will have enough strength. It’s not a technical time trial, so you have to work a lot on your position, and it will be a good test, but I’m confident I can do a good test. We will see…
