The spotlight is on Evenepoel, but will a storm disrupt the Tour’s time trial climax?

The Tour de France has been decided, including almost all classifications and nearly all top ten spots. The concluding time trial from Monaco to Nice was initially expected to be a nail-biter but now seems to be turning into a battle without too much suspense. The stage victory appears to be the only thing truly at stake, but the weather gods could play a significant role in this.

The individual time trial of 33.7 kilometers will start on Sunday with Davide Ballerini of Astana Qazaqstan. Tadej Pogacar will be the last to roll off the podium at 6:45 PM. The entire top ten of the Tour GC will only begin after 6:00 PM, and Buienradar is forecasting a thunderstorm around that time. This could impact the race's outcome, as predicted by the major teams. "If you've fought for something for three weeks, you won't put it at risk," says Tom Steels, team leader of Remco Evenepoel at Soudal-Quick Step, in a comment for Het Nieuwsblad.

Similarly, Visma | Lease a Bike does not plan to take risks if the rain alters the course, according to sports director Merijn Zeeman. "If it rains when the top riders are on the road, they will lose a lot of time compared to the best times set earlier in the day. It will be very slippery, and staying upright will be the only goal."

Continue reading below the photo.

Cycling world seems to hope for Evenepoel

In all the preview columns and podcasts in cycling media, people are hoping the rain doesn't rain on the Tour's parade and that world time trial champion Evenepoel wins the final stage. "Personally, I would like Evenepoel to win. I think he is having a very good Tour de France," Erik Breukink told De Telegraaf. Annemiek van Vleuten shared a similar sentiment on De Avondetappe. "If Remco wins that time trial, he will go to the Olympics with a lot of morale. Winning that stage as world champion would be more important to me than finishing second or third in the classification. I feel for him that he is wearing white instead of the rainbow jersey because there are so few time trials."

Patrick Lefevere assessed his rider's chances for HLN. The Soudal-Quick Step team boss is not yet convinced. "We knew it was possible, but we are still somewhat surprised," he said about Evenepoel's third place in the final classification. "Winning the time trial is certainly not impossible, but it will be difficult when you see how Tadej is riding. You can't see the difference between him riding to the bakery or climbing uphill. I hope Remco can win the Tour someday, but Tadej isn't that old either. Remco is unlucky to be racing against the Eddy Merckx of this era. But you never know if he doesn't participate or has a setback. First, we need to get to Nice, then enjoy the moment, and then we'll see."

"It would have been nice if there were still a ten or twenty-second difference," Thijs Zonneveld says on the podcast In het Wiel. He picks Pogacar as the favorite. "He is so fast uphill. Even if he doesn't take risks in the descent, he can still win."