Andy Schleck believes Remco Evenepoel wants to match Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard: "He is here to race for the win"

Andy Schleck has won on the Col du Galibier back in 2011 via the same side that will be climbed this Tuesday. The former Tour de France winner is on the ground at the Grand Boucle and has shared his opinion on the battle between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard... And Remco Evenepoel.

"On paper, when you look at how he has been riding in recent months and years, he (Tadej Pogacar, ed.) is the big favourite. I think he is the strongest in the peloton, but we have seen a solid Vingegaard, who is in the most professional team," Andy Schleck commented on the microphone of Cyclism'Actu after a spectacular stage 2. "Vingegaard is ready, he will be very strong in the last two weeks. Pogacar has been at the top level for a while, especially in the Giro, where he released a lot of energy. And with the heat, your metabolism can be disrupted. May the best man win, but I hope Pogacar does not have a 4-minute lead from the 5th stage."

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Schleck does believe Pogacar is still carrying some advantage into the race whilst Vingegaard may come around in the final half of the race. Not overly different than what has happened over the past two editions. The Luxembourger however was pleasantly surprised with Remco Evenepoel after the ascent to the Madonna di San Luca and his effort to bridge across to the front in the finale and believes Evenepoel can surprise even with such competition.

"We saw that he lost weight, he is ready, he is here to race for the win," Schleck says of the Soudal - Quick-Step rider. "Even if I think he will still have a little trouble in the high mountains, he is not a pure climber. I am impatient to see what he can do."

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Schleck lastly was also very happy with Romain Bardet's triumph in the opening day of the race, a very popular win all around: "I rode with him, but I don't remember any particular anecdote. He's a rider who gradually climbed up to become one of the favorites as he is today. Will that be enough for the podium? We'll see how he defends himself in the mountains over the next few days."

"In any case, I'm super happy for him. He prepared very well for this Tour, but it's clear to him that it's going to be his last Tour de France. He has had many ups and downs in his career, but to finish with a Yellow Jersey, even if it is only the first stage, is magnificent," he concluded. 

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