Remco Evenepoel might have worn the Critérium du Dauphiné leader's jersey earlier this week, but come Sunday's final stage, he lies as far from the maillot jaune and the top two men on GC, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, as he ever has.
At the end of his Tour de France debut last summer, Evenepoel took third place, 9:18 down on Pogačar and three behind second-placed Vingegaard. Once again, at this Dauphiné, the 25-year-old is clearly third best among the trio, with Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) also stronger on the bike and higher in the standings.
Evenepoel said after stage 7, where he finished over two minutes down on the 'big two', that he prefers to compare his rides to his own efforts last summer, rather than any of his Dauphiné and Tour rivals.
"I shouldn't look at them, but at where I was last year," Evenepoel told Sporza on Saturday, referring to his seventh place at the Dauphiné.
"Then I was 9th of the 'smaller' names – if I may say so – and further behind. Compared to last year, I am further ahead for myself.
"But of course, those men have not been sitting still either. At the moment it is focussing on myself and going one day at a time."
Unless he can produce something spectacular on Sunday's closing stage, Evenepoel looks set to finish off the podium this week, given he currently lies 4:11 off race leader Pogačar and 1:50 off third-placed Lipowitz.
He did rack up his third win of the season at the race, speeding to a comfortable stage 4 time trial victory in Saint-Péray. Come the mountains, however, it's been the "same story" on both days so far with "empty legs" betraying him on the final climb, Evenepoel said, before gauging several of his competitors' progress.
"It was another super difficult day. The start was uphill, in the middle it was uphill, and the end was also uphill. I was always well in front," he said.
"Lipowitz is very strong, but last year there were also men like Carlos Rodríguez and Matteo Jorgenson. In the end, they finished behind me in the Tour.
"You often have men who are a bit better here than in the Tour or who maintain the same level while the rest are getting even better. It is great what [Pogačar] is doing, but hopefully he is already at the top of his game."
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