He’s nonetheless within the recreation. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) got here by an arduous stage 11 of the Tour de France together with his second place general nonetheless intact regardless of shedding 25 seconds to high favourites Tadej Pogačar (UAE Crew Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike). And because the Belgian identified, time-wise, the dimensions of his setback was smaller than within the Alps, too.
Evenepoel barely had to consider his selection of not making an attempt to comply with Pogačar when he went for it on the Puy Mary, he mentioned, significantly given Pogačar’s teammate Adam Yates had laid down a searing acceleration to assist the Slovenian obtain most liftoff.
The Belgian then gained added motivation when he managed to make contact with a struggling Primoz Roglič (Purple Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). He even completed forward of Roglič after the Bora racer was unfortunate sufficient to crash within the final three kilometres, however the two had been then awarded the identical time, given Roglič’s fall had occurred contained in the ‘security zone’.
“It was only a good stage. Perhaps I didn’t really feel at my very best; in any other case, I might have reacted a bit extra strongly, however it’s very optimistic,” Evenepoel mentioned later.
“I am nonetheless second general and the fellows behind me on GC misplaced much more time. It is a optimistic consequence.
“I attempted to remain as shut as doable to the 2 high names and if I misplaced 25 seconds, that’s lower than what I misplaced in [the stage 4] end in Valloire after the Galibier.”
The Soudal-QuickStep chief mentioned he had had no complaints about Roglič being given the identical time as him on the end, declaring succinctly that “Guidelines are rule.”
Nonetheless, he additionally mentioned that Roglič appeared to have been on the restrict when the 2 had been chasing after Vingegaard and Pogačar, a conclusion he reached after noticing that “a few of Primoz’s’ turns had been fairly quick.”
“Remco might have tried to go along with Pogačar, however then he risked blowing up and shedding extra time,” Soudal-QuickStep supervisor Tom Steels identified to Sporza.be.
“We had been a bit nervous when he was dropped by Pogačar, however then we noticed everyone was on the restrict.
“Remco did an amazing job. He stored himself beneath management and stored going inside his limits, possibly even going slightly bit over at occasions. And I feel that within the final a part of the stage,” – the place Evenepoel and Roglič managed to scale back the hole from some 45 seconds on the main duo to only 25 on the end – “he was possibly even one of many strongest.”
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