"Feet on the ground now" - Remco Evenepoel reflects on Tour de France gains, time trial and Paul Seixas as he sets sight on final week
CyclingMonday, 20 July 2026 at 16:30
Remco Evenepoel has used his rest day to reassess his position in the Tour de France. After a stage win on Sunday, beating Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro, as well as Jonas Vingegaard abandoning the race, sees him move into second place in the general classification.
The Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe rider enjoyed an impressive second week at La Grand Boucle. Despite being dropped on some climbs on stage 10 and 14, he came back strong after pacing himself well.
It all came to fruition on Sunday's stage as he held his own against the UAE Team Emirates - XRG riders, and Evenepoel is delighted after fulfilling one of the major goals he set out before the race - winning a road race stage at the Tour.
"I said it beforehand: I wanted to win a stage that wasn't a time trial. I've got that now, and there's another time trial tomorrow. Feet on the ground now, and the main goal is to maintain my second place," Evenepoel said in a press conference.
"It would be a fantastic result to finish second behind one of the best – or perhaps even the best riders of all time."
Evenepoel targets time trial
Evenepoel finds himself in second place and 5 minutes behind Tadej Pogacar, and is intent to kjeep his feet on the ground and consolidate his position in the race.
With a 26.1 kilometer time trial featuring a climb early in the effort, Evenepoel could be favourite to take the stage and some ground on his GC rivals. The world champion in the discipline sees an opportunity after Monday's rest day.
"A real difference can be made on the climb. It's going to be special with many split times. It's also the day after the rest day, and some react differently to that than others. We could well see some surprising things."
Asked about his plans for the Tour, he insisted he's taking the race day-by-day and hopes that he can ride to Paris and maintain his second place.
"For the moment, I am just trying to finish as strong as possible. I am not thinking about anything else yet."
Remco Evenepoel
Evenepoel hopes for strong final week
"If I have a goal in mind, I usually get pretty close. After Liège, I put everything on the Tour. We're taking it day by day now, and then we'll see on Sunday where I finish in the general classification."
Paul Seixas is one rider with ambitions for the general classification, currently sitting in fourth place. Evenepoel has praised the 19-year-old's handling of the pressure and media attention. Regarding Seixas as a future yellow jersey winner, Evenepoel stressed patience as the word.
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Evenepoel said: "I'm just going to focus 100% on myself and not look back. Seixas was 'extraordinary', especially with the pressure and media attention he receives.
"I hope people have patience with him because one day he might well win the Tour. I hope for him that he can continue like this and finish this Tour well."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Tadej has gifted two stages so far so could be on six wins already.Renz21-07-2026
- We'll never know, but what evidence?... an anonymous phone tip from some rabid Seixas fan? Certainly not a team car full of dope and paraphernalia or a bunch of used syringes in a trash bag at the race finish.mrvco21-07-2026
- True. If you going to test for doping though, between two tough mountain stages is the right time to test beacuse that is when they might need it most.
Andrew21-07-2026 - cycling has been dirty forever, really not sure why no one is giving the testers the benefit of the doubtwhkman21-07-2026
- None of us really know what goes on behind closed doors but it is very suspicious to wake these riders up the day before a big mountain stage while they are still recovering from the mountain stage the day before. I have to go to bed, it's almost 2am lolawp21-07-2026
- And you’re free to believe that as I am free not to believe it regardless of who my neighbours or work colleagues support.Andrew21-07-2026
- And you know that how? Did Pog call you, message you?Andrew21-07-2026
- being reported that as many as 8 teams were tested at late hours and from Benjamin Cohen, head of ITA in April: “I don’t think you would want to do mass testing at the Tour de France, for example, and wake up all the athletes at 3am — that doesn’t make sense. I think you would need to have very concrete suspicions (about an athlete) and use that in a very cautious manner. “I wouldn’t advocate for mass night testing, but certainly for some flexibility if you believe that there is an issue.” so really doesn't seem like he's crazy about testing and thinks they should need evidence for late night testing. and here we are, they went to a judge and got the ok so I think they have credible evidencewhkman21-07-2026
- "a bit much" is an understatement.whkman21-07-2026
- UAE will suffocate Remco in the big mountains !frieders321-07-2026
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