Remco Evenepoel and the solitude of chasing Tour de France success

Remco Evenepoel was reported to be 'angry' during his final Tour de France altitude in Tignes; angry with himself after his alternating performances at the Critérium du Dauphiné, angry that his Soudal-QuickStep team often left isolated during the key mountain stages and angry that the 2025 Tour de France could go a similar way.

He has vented his 'anger' by posting lines from Flemish rappers on his Strava account, as Het Laatste Nieuws journalist Yuri De Knop noticed.

“Your words are hard, but they don't have any effect on me. Your words are hard, but they don't have any effect on me," Evenepoel posted after the Dauphiné.

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"And then those jealous people, they cause problems. Very annoying, a bit like pollen," he posted this week before travelling to Belgium or the national championships.

The 25-year-old Belgian probably used his anger to find extra motivation for the Tour de France, to work hard in the Alps to improve his climbing ability and reach his race weight. He is hoping the pollen allergies that slowed him in the Dauphiné will not be a factor in July and that he has improved more than his rivals in recent weeks.

Last year, Evenepoel's Tour de France debut was a success. He won the time trial stage, the best young rider's white jersey and finished third overall. He was not able to compete with Tadej Pogačar in the mountains and struggled to even stay with Jonas Vingegaard, but he was the best of the rest. He then went on to win a gold medal in the time trial and the road at the Paris Olympics.

Evenepoel has always seemed destined for greatness, but nobody knows, including him, if that greatness will ever include victory in the Tour de France. We will find out more during the next four weeks.

Evenepoel is naturally ambitious and always aims high.

"It's up to me to prove to myself and my team that I'm able to win a Grand Tour," Evenepoel said in the Netflix Tour de France: Unchained documentary series that looks back at the 2024 Tour.

"The pressure is sometimes unbearable, but you have to rise above it. Don't dwell on the negative, but always think positively. You always have to work through the tough moments and keep going."

Evenepoel proved his inner steel by winning the Nuits-Saint-Georges time trial stage in 2024 after being distanced by Tadej Pogačar on the early mountain stage over the Col du Galibier. He suffered a chain problem but still beat Pogačar and Vingegaard to take his first Tour stage win of his career. It was a real show of character.

"A Tour de France winner is born perhaps every ten years. One thing they have in common: they never doubt themselves. The next day, they go again and again and again," Soudal-QuickStep sports director Tom Steels said with respect for his young team leader.

Evenepoel lost a vital 12-week block of pre-season and early-season training this year after hitting a car door on one of his first training rides in December. He is playing catch-up this season, and despite his 'anger', he is still targeting the Tour de France podium.

He will try to challenge Pogačar and Vingegaard but will also have to look over his shoulder and beat Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Ben O'Connor (Jayco-AlUla), and Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), who could fight with Evenepoel for the podium, as could João Almeida and Adam Yates as they work for Pogačar, or Simon Yates, Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson as they ride for Vingegaard.

The risk of targeting the Tour de France with limited team support

Evenepoel always aim for the stars in the hope of landing on the moon. But he and Soudal-QuickStep will probably have a rational race plan for the Tour.

An option could be to limit any time losses in the early stages, win the stage 5 time trial around Caen, take the yellow jersey and then keep it as long as possible in the Pyrenees. He would probably then crack in the high mountains, and the third week, as Pogačar and Vingegaard fight for victory.

Evenepoel will perhaps never admit to limiting or customising his ambitions but there is logic to the plan, considering his lack of a strong team and likely struggles in the high mountains. Ultimately, it would mean Evenepoel's Tour would be considered a success and a significant step forward.

Evenepoel and Soudal-QuickStep have few other tactical options for the Tour GC.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Visma-Lease a Bike have named super teams, packed with Grand Tour winners and podium contenders. Evenepoel will only be able to look on and try to follow the wheels as they dominate the racing and fight for overall victory.

"A good team is necessary if someone wants to be a real candidate for overall victory at the Tour," former pro rider Jan Bakelants said bluntly in a recent column for Het Laatste Nieuws.

"Remco is not a candidate for the winner in the Tour at the moment. The gap between Vingegaard and Pogačar seems to be even bigger compared to last year."

Soudal-QuickStep team manager Jurgen Foré is more diplomatic and protective when assessing Evenepoel's GC chances and the strength of the team for the Tour.

"Last year, Remco faced a bigger catch-up race after his crash at Itzulia Basque Country. He had more work to do between the Dauphiné and the Tour, and he still managed to put in a super strong performance in the Tour," Foré told Nieuwsblad.

"His time trial performance at the Dauphiné was sublime, while there is still a bit of work to be done on the climbs. I think Remco can rightly be confident."

Foré and the Soudal-QuickStep faced a tough task trying to keep Evenepoel happy about the eight-rider team for the Tour de France.

Tim Melier and lead-out man Bert Van Lerberghe have been selected and target stage wins to edge Soudal-QuickStep bets against Evenepoel's possible GC disappointment. However, Merlier and Van Lerberghe are taking two spots on the roster, leaving just five places for Evenepoel's domestiques.

Mikel Landa mentored and helped Evenepoel last year and also finished fifth in last year's Tour, but is out of action this summer following his Giro crash.

The 12-rider long list also includes Ilan Van Wilder, Mauri Vansevenant, Junior Lecerf, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Mattia Cattaneo, who rode the Giro, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Maximilian Schachmann, Casper Pedersen and even Louis Vervaeke. He fractured his collarbone on stage 5 of the Dauphiné but has been training on the rollers and may be part of the final Soudal-QuickStep Tour team.

"Apparently, Tom Pidcock won Olympic gold four weeks after breaking his collarbone. That gives me hope," he said.

Vervaeke's hope is a sign of Soudal-QuickStep's desperation.

Merlier could win big and even take the first yellow jersey in Lille next Saturday, but there is a clear lack of mountain domestiques who can help Evenepoel.

What happens if Evenepoel is isolated and suffers in the mountains, has a puncture or just needs a bidon and some encouragement? Pogačar and Vingegaard will surely try to take advantage of their teams' strengths and the weaknesses of Soudal-QuickStep whenever possible. Evenepoel's podium rivals will surely do the same.

What the 2025 Tour de France means for Evenepoel's future ambitions

Evenepoel's Tour de France performance and results will be the judge of his 2025 season and far more.

Victory seems difficult but remains a possibility, especially if something happens to Pogačar and Vingegaard or if they focus too much on fighting with each other.

Another third place on the podium with the two is far more likely and would confirm Evenepoel's Grand Tour potential and get his career back on track after his winter injuries. More stage wins and the early spell in the yellow jersey would also be hugely satisfying and indicative of Evenepoel's talents.

Anything less would arguably have been seen as a disappointment, especially as Evenepoel sets his own bar so high. A collapse in the mountains or even worse would spark questions about his true Tour de France ability and credentials. It will be a high-stakes Tour for Evenepoel.

Whatever the result and the performances when the Tour reaches Paris on July 27, it will be time for reflection and decision, a turning point in the 2025 season and Evenepoel's career.

His contract with Soudal-QuickStep ends after 2026, and he soon has to decide if he stays loyal to the Belgian team, even for 2025, and if he signs a new contract for 2027 and beyond.

Ineos Grenadiers now have extra funding from TotalEnergies and have been linked to a move for the Belgian. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe need a big-name replacement for Roglič and have already tried to sign Evenepoel several times.

Other teams have probably also called Evenepoel's father, who acts as his agent, to enquire about his career plans and even make lucrative offers to tempt him away from Soudal-QuickStep. Belgian contract law could help Evenepoel end his contract a year early in exchange for a year's salary.

Soudal-QuickStep are desperate to keep Evenepoel, but their sponsors seem to lack the funds and courage to invest in a long-term project to build a super team around him. So far, Jurgen Foré seems focused on rebuilding the Soudal-QuickStep Classics squad and backing Merlier for the splints. There are no signs that the team will be built to back a Tour de France bid in 2026 and beyond.

Evenepoel is ambitious and determined and has perhaps already decided his future plans. He wants a bigger and better salary, and also a better and more Grand Tour-focused team to help him win the Tour de France. Evenepoel is a super talent who deserves to have the support of one of the super teams.

Anything could happen when the transfer season kicks off in August and negotiations come alive and deadlines near, with only Evenepoel perhaps really knowing what he wants to do.

The 2025 Tour de France will reveal if Evenepoel can be a contender for the yellow jersey in the years to come, and also which team can ultimately help him achieve his goal.

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