'A move could take him to the next level' – Bradley Wiggins says Remco Evenepoel should consider switching teams to win the Tour de France

Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins has said that Remco Evenepoel perhaps has to seek a move elsewhere if he's ever to win the race himself.

The Belgian is leading Soudal-QuickStep at the Tour for the second year in succession as the race begins in Lille on Saturday. Having finished third last year, 9:18 down on Tadej Pogačar, and is aiming to challenge the Slovenian and Jonas Vingegaard this July.

Evenepoel will be counting on the likes of Ilan Van Wilder, Valentin Paret-Peintre, and Max Schachmann for support. However, with riders such as Simon Yates, João Almeida, Sepp Kuss, and Adam Yates backing up Pogačar and Vingegaard, there's a clear gulf in team strength, Wiggins told Sporza.

"Are they a strong enough team to be a team with a potential Tour winner? Especially now that Patrick Lefevere is gone," Wiggins asked.

"Maybe he should look elsewhere. Look at the composition of teams like Visma-Lease A Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG. They have domestiques who can win Grand Tours themselves. Soudal-QuickStep is not at that level.

"A move to a team like Ineos Grenadiers or Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe could take him to the next level because individually he has the qualities to win the Tour."

Evenepoel is under contract with Soudal-QuickStep through the end of 2026, but he has previously been linked with a move to the two teams. Ineos Grenadiers were heavily linked with a move two years ago, while Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe reportedly tabled a €10 million contract offer last season.

Unlike the past two summers, there's no talk of a big money transfer or buyout this year, leaving Evenepoel free to concentrate on the Tour and taking the fight to Pogačar and Vingegaard, the winners of the past five Tours.

Wiggins noted that Evenepoel, the reigning world, Olympic, and Belgian time trial champion, has a weapon of his own to make time on the pair. He added that the 25-year-old should aim to "fly under the radar", hanging on in the mountains if possible before gaining time in the 44km of time trials.

Evenepoel recently put his two rivals to the sword in the mid-race time trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné, gaining 20 seconds on Vingegaard and 48 on Pogačar over the course of 17km.

"He mustn't forget that he also has weapons, such as his time trial," Wiggins said. "The other two are jealous of that. When he's on his day, he can go toe-to-toe with them. He's also coming back from injury, so I think he'll reach a level at the Tour that we haven't seen this year.

"Remco must take advantage of a possible cat-and-mouse game between Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. He must hang on as long as possible uphill and then use the time trials to make up time.

"It's important that he remains patient because the race will be decided in the third week. Just like last year, he has to fly a bit under the radar."

Wiggins also acknowledged that Evenepoel is "carrying the expectations of an entire country." He'd be the first Belgian Tour winner since Lucien Van Impe in 1976 – "If you don't count my win in 2012," the Gent-born former racer quipped.

Speaking at the Wattage Festival in Ostend on Sunday, Wiggins reflected on that Tour victory and the intra-team rivalry that grew between himself and Chris Froome.

Wiggins took control of the race early in the first half, riding into yellow on La Planches Des Belles Filles and then growing his lead to almost two minutes at the Besançon time trial. But days later, tensions between the pair flared after Froome attacked on the summit finish at La Toussuire.

"I threatened to leave the Tour. I was leading by two minutes, and I didn't expect that move at all," Wiggins said, according to WielerFlits.

"Chris said he was worried about his position because of the bonus seconds at the finish. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to catch Vincenzo Nibali in the time trial, so he wanted to gain as much time as possible. At that point, I became collateral damage."

Froome was ordered to wait for Wiggins, and with him the remainder of the GC group. His team leader, of course, went on to win the Tour before he won four of his own over the subsequent half decade.

Wiggins said that he and Froome have since made up, bonding once again and becoming friends years after the incident.

"I was high and drinking when I called him. I was in a depressive period at the time a lot of self-loathing. Making up was part of it for me. I was very selfish during my career. That wasn't the person I wanted to be.

"We were a threat to each other's ambitions, but now I understand that I've become a completely different person. That was liberating for me.

"We made up a few years ago. I told him then: 'Look, I was an asshole. You were too, and our manager Dave Brailsford was the biggest asshole.' Then we kissed and hugged, and since then we've been friends again."

The Tour de France is the biggest race in cycling, and a Cyclingnews subscription offers you unlimited access to our unrivalled coverage.

Get all the breaking news and analysis from our team on the ground in France, plus the latest pro tech, live race reports, and a daily subscriber-only newsletter with exclusive insight into the action. Find out more.