'In Remco's mind, probably not even Pogačar is out of reach in the Tour de France' - Thomas De Gendt explains why Evenepoel will aim for yellow from the word go this July

To be honest, when Tadej Pogačar is this strong coming into the Tour de France, and I wouldn't want to wish this on anybody, but the only way that Remco Evenepoel can have a really good chance of winning is if Pogačar crashes out. Otherwise it's going to be very, very difficult for Remco - or anybody else, for that matter - to be even close.

The interesting thing of course is that in Remco's mind, probably not even Pogačar is out of reach. But that's because if you're in his position and you assume Pogačar is out of your league, then you've already lost before you start. The same goes for Vingegaard: he will not be thinking about second place, only about winning.

I believe I know Remco well enough to know that he thinks that he can beat Pogačar in the first week time trial. After all, Remco took almost 45 seconds on him in 13 kilometres in the Dauphiné TT. And if he wins that first week TT and then doesn't lose so much time in the mountains, Remco will be thinking he can maybe beat Pogačar on GC.

Remco's also realistic, though, and he'll know it's a hard task. But that attitude is part of a champion's mentality. Remco has, and people mustn't take this in a negative sense, a big ego. By which I don't mean anything bad, more that he likes to prove himself. Just look at when he had an off-day on the Tourmalet in the 2023 Vuelta a España when even I passed him on the climbs and he was not looking at all well. Yet 24 hours later, Remco was flying again.

Those kinds of turnarounds aren't to prove something to the public, because they have their own opinions and even if you win a lot, they don't necessarily change. It's almost like he wants to prove his worth not only to himself but to his team, too: that he's always up there with the best riders, that he's worth riding for and worth their investment.

You don't see this attitude in lower-level cyclists, only with riders with a big ego, but I repeat, I'm not saying big ego in a bad way. By that, I mean the way the greatest champions are made.

It's also true that Remco's chances of a Tour podium this summer are good, but you have to remember the pressure in Belgium on Remco is a bit higher than on other riders, too. When other riders from here win a stage in the Dauphiné, people here are already praising them and nominating them for Belgian Cyclist of the Year. But with Remco, they still say it's not good enough, it's like some riders cannot do anything wrong and for most people, Remco cannot do anything right.

It's a bit annoying and very strange, when here is a rider that can win Monuments, that can win Grand Tours and that can be a double Olympic Champion. But still, some people here say that he is a rubbish rider because he didn't win the Tour de France. The thing is Remco won the Vuelta at a young age and they expect him to be better. There are even journalists, too, who say that Remco needs to change this and that and that's even if he were to win 50 races a year. But in any case, when he does win, they then say, 'Ah, he listened to me, so now that's working.'

So even if Remco wins the opening time trial and takes yellow, still for these critics, it won't be enough because once he loses it in the mountains they will say he is not good enough to keep the jersey. People think that if you have the yellow jersey, it gives you wings - something extra when you have to defend it. But unless Pogačar gets sick or crashes, Tadej will be the main favourite and he will be very difficult to beat.

I did think Remco would be a bit better in the Dauphiné, but apart from the allergy issues, I have the feeling that people also forgot the injury he had after his crash this winter, and the time he had to spend off the bike. It's also the second year in a row that he did not have a great buildup for the Tour, after last year's crash in Itzulia-Pais Vasco. People underestimate how tough it is to start from zero again, that many times.

Mentally, this week in the Dauphiné will likely have taken a bit of a toll on him. But even so, it's not hard to think he will be performing much better in the Tour and maybe can overtake Vingegaard in the standings. Remco can build his form, too, and maybe he needed the Dauphine to get to a higher level to where he needs to be to win the Tour. The same goes for Vingegaard. Of course, it will be difficult, but there's still some way to go to the hardest stages of the Tour, and a lot of things can happen. A lot of things need to be better, but I think Remco will get better, too.

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