Still Sturm und Drang with Evenepoel? 'Pogacar and Vingegaard, that's a completely different race'

Remco Evenepoel has come through the first nine stages of the Tour de France in his career. The Belgian of Soudal Quick-Step can be seen as one of the great animators on the first rest day of the 2024 edition, with a stage win, second place in the general classification and the junior jersey as his reward. At his rest day press conference, he spoke about his experiences and expectations.

So far, everything is running smoothly for Evenepoel, who only suffered some setbacks with the loss of his teammate Casper Pedersen. The Belgian has not had any weak moments so far and thus still finds himself between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, winners of the last four editions of the Tour de France;

On Monday, the Belgian enjoyed his first rest day in this Tour, during which he did take a moment to ride his bike with his teammates. He did so in a striking German jersey, in honor of the 50th anniversary of bicycle sponsor Specialized. Then he took the time to take a seat behind the laptop for a digital press conference.

How did you get through your rest day and did you need it?

'Everyone needs that, especially after the gravel ride. It's nice to be able to relax a bit after such a hectic day. I woke up quietly, had some breakfast, did a ride and now some press bonds. So far everything is going well, so hopefully the annoying questions will stay out.'

Prior to the Tour, you found it difficult to name a position as a goal, what are you thinking about now?

'We are nine days on the road, so anything can still happen. The most hectic days are over, but the toughest days are yet to come. After the Pyrenees, we'll see where we are. For now, we're still looking at it day by day, then we can see if we're looking a little more at the podium or still considering top five.'

How much confidence did you gain from the Galibier ride, including heading into Wednesday's next mountain ride?

'I was lucky on the Galibier with the headwind, because it allowed me to save some energy. I was third over the top, so that means the legs were good. Wednesday is a tricky stage, where a battle for the GC could just happen.

For me as a Belgian, it's a ride I'm looking forward to, because the last rider to win at Le Lioran was Greg Van Avermaet (in 2016, ed.). I would love to pull that off like him, so I think I'll have a call with him. I know he has scouted. We'd love to do that too, but the ride was kind of in the middle of nowhere. So I'll just have to ask Greg.'

You are sleeping in the same hotel as UAE-Team Emirates. Have you already hatched a plan with your potential ally Tadej?

'I'm going to have to disappoint you, I haven't met Tadej yet. Those guys are in their race for the yellow jersey and we're competing for top five/ podium, so that's a very different race. The direct duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar is coming up, with Pogacar now having the advantage. Hopefully I can watch that battle for a long time.'

How will you be able to take advantage of that?

'Should I say that now, everyone will know (laughs).

I have to be able to follow them as long as possible, because they are the best riders in the world. I know from myself that I have to put enough effort into following them already, so there are no plans. There is such a saying of two dogs and a leg, but that's not in our heads yet. It's a clean rivalry between those two, but for now I have to learn from them what I can do. Or can't.'

You already rode the Giro and Tour, but this is your first Tour. What's the difference?

'What struck me most is the average speed. The last stages we rode in stages with 2500 altimeters 45 kilometers per hour on average, in the Giro or Vuelta it goes to 41 or 42 per hour. Cavendish also rode next to me once and said: this is the Tour, there is constantly hard riding and it is always crowded. But I was warned about that and it works out well, so now it's important to keep going like that.'

Do you still think Pogacar is unbeatable?

'Yes, actually he did. His attacks were brutal on Sunday. I also went pretty full on my attack and he was the only one who could ride it that way. He looks very good and fresh, so I still think he will be hard to beat. But we have to keep believing in our own strengths and keep knocking on his door, then you never know if he's going to have a bad day or not.'