TOUR DE FRANCE | 02/07/2024 | 17:43
by Francesca Monzone
Remco Evenepoel is satisfied with the result obtained in this first Alpine stage and if on the climb he managed to stay with the best, on the descent he preferred to be cautious. The Flemish had bad feelings on the descent and the images of the descent in the Basque Country came back to his mind, when he fell and ended up off the road, breaking his collarbone. “I felt good on the race, but the descent towards Valloire reminded me of the Basque Country and my fall and the thoughts were not nice.”
The Belgian finished second, 35 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar and is now 45 seconds behind in the general classification. The first Alpine test went well for Remco who crossed the finish line in second place on the Galibier day and is now right behind Pogacar in the general classification.
“AND always positive when you finish second behind the best runner in the world. There is nothing to criticize about our strategy. It was a positive day for us and I think we did a good job on the Galibier.”
The Flemish tried to stay on Pogacar’s wheel on the Galibier when he attacked, but it is difficult to maintain a high pace when racing at altitude.
«Tadej’s attack at 2,600 meters was very strong. I tried to follow him, but he was still a bit above my level. I tried to go as fast as possible because I knew there were bonus points at the top of the Galibier. Then I started the descent, but the frozen water on the road scared me.”
Evenepoel wants to play his best card in the time trial that will be held on Friday. He knows the course well and he is the world champion in this specialty. “Now I’m already focused on the time trial on Friday and I want to do well. The descent today was very fast and technical and I almost slipped twice and I didn’t feel 100 percent confident. However, I can say that my condition is improving day by day.”
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