"No one wants to blame anyone, but I don't think anyone is happy with this"; Evenepoel questions UAE's tactics

"I had a good feeling about today's race. Initially, I thought I had secured third place, but I just found out that Luke Plapp was ahead of me too. Consequently, I missed out on bonus seconds, but that's not a major concern," said Evenepoel, who also saw Buitrago and Plapp surpass him in the standings.

"I found the tactics of UAE-Team Emirates a bit odd. They allowed those riders to break away seemingly out of nowhere, despite having four riders at the front of the GC. They could have allowed one of their riders to control the pace, which they eventually did. Unfortunately, Vine later dropped back, affecting the chances of others in the classification. Indeed, Buitrago and Plapp, two strong contenders, managed to escape in this manner."

"That Plapp and Buitrago are now ahead of me? That's not a great situation heading into the weekend, but it will be tough regardless," Evenepoel told Eurosport. "They are strong riders, so we need to carefully consider our tactical approach. Hopefully, other teams won't allow them to break away immediately either. I don't want to point fingers, but I don't think anyone is pleased about two such strong riders gaining a forty-second advantage. It was unpredictable."

He expressed satisfaction with his Soudal Quick-Step team. "Overall, we rode well. I saw Ilan Van Wilder put in a very strong effort in the final stretch, and the rest of the guys ensured I remained well-positioned throughout. In the end, I gained two seconds on the rest of the classification riders, although Mattias Skjelmose managed to finish just ahead of me. I glanced to my left and didn't see him, so I was a bit surprised when he passed me. He's also in good form, so it made for an exciting battle."