Dirk De Wolf: "Even with Tadej Pogacar & Jonas Vingegaard at the start, Remco Evenepoel can win the Tour de France"
CyclingThursday, 25 July 2024 at 09:54
On his Tour de France debut, Remco Evenepoel was the clear best of the rest behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, giving Belgian cycling hope that their long wait for a new winner of the Maillot Jaune might finally be coming to an end in the not too distant future.
Former Belgian cycling pro and 1992 Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner, Dirk De Wolf was left incredibly impressed by Evenepoel's performances over the last few weeks in France. "I have been texting Remco almost every day," the 63-year-old says in quotes collected by HLN. "He has done fantastically and has gone through an enormous learning process. Third in the final classification, the white jersey, a stage win... Chapeau! It is pure enjoyment to watch him in action."
What about the future though? Can Evenepoel be the man to break that Pogacar - Vingegaard stranglehold over the fight for the Maillot Jaune of the Tour de France? De Wolf is very optimistic about the Soudal - Quick-Step leader's chances. “He knows his areas for improvement and he knows them. For example, he needs to be able to ride uphill even faster and respond to the accelerations of the competition even better,” the vastly experienced Belgian explains.
“If we have a little more patience, we will see a lot more of 'that little one'. Against big names like Pogacar and Vingegaard it is of course not easy, but even with them at the start Remco can win the Tour de France," De Wolf concludes. "That Pogacar was superior now? That could completely change within a few years. Remco can still get better and Pogacar will not always have the legs with which he rode this Tour. I already rate his third place in the Tour de France much higher than his final victory in the Vuelta a Espana.”
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- this is stupidity. Give Lipo a chance, you will not regret it. If Roglic crashes, and he will, Bora will be left with nothingabstractengineer04-07-2025
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- You bring some very good points, and I especially love the one regarding climate advocates. I've read many an article describing how celebrities and the like jet around the world in their private aircraft to attend various climate change conferences, in order to discuss what can be done to 'save the planet'. Those situations have to be the irony of all ironies.
santiagobenites04-07-2025 - the entire sport, and every sport, does nothing but create waste and pollution. sport is unnecessary to live on a daily basis. so in the entire sea of waste on this planet- this is what people are going to single out? don’t give me the “it starts with one person b.s.”. then anyone being critical, be that person, and stop following every sport and go plant a tree. and he doesn’t claim to be a climate advocate. what about those who are, and do the same?mij04-07-2025
- Primoz Cashlic will abandon TdF befor halfway.
Jkolner12304-07-2025 - MvdP 👎
leedorney04-07-2025 - I hope Remco all the best in this 'tour, shake it up, as Jonas is boring as, Pog. like a jack in the box 😁leedorney04-07-2025
I think the Tour course design will have to include 3 proper TTs (2 of them flatter and longer) for that to happen. IMHO that kind of course design would make for a riveting TDF. It is essentially the same course design that the 1989, and to a lessser degree, 2003 (admittedly tarnished in hindsight) TDFs were based on. Both highly suspenseful races.
Sure he could. But likely not for a few years. Dynasties always end, but the Tadej / Jonas duopoly looks like it still has some years to run.
No he cant, they just showed their balls to him and his was tiny