"He especially needs mental rest" - Remco Evenepoel's teammate hopes for a strong comeback of his leader

Remco Evenepoel's performance at the 2025 Tour de France left a lot to be desired and, ultimately, the 25-year-old Belgian abandon as the second week was coming to an end. On the slopes of Tourmalet during stage 14, the Olympic champion found absolutely nothing in his legs and with a tangible disappointment stepped into the team car.

Pascal Eenkhoorn is one of the many Soudal - Quick-Step men who suddenly gained freedom to spend the next week however he finds entertaining. Of course he'll still be at hand for Tim Merlier in bunch sprints, but there is not that many of those...

Back to Evenepoel with whom Eenkhoorn spent the last month of preparation including riding the Critérium du Dauphiné and subsequent altitude camp in Tignes... The Dutchman admits that the failure of his leader didn't come as a shock. In fact, he had already sensed something amiss in the run-up to Tour.

The Belgain was simply unable to push beyond a certain effort, and extra rest did not improve his condition. "Yes, it's true, things did not go as planned, even with additional rest days," Eenkhoorn confirmed to Sporza. "But with a rider like him, you never know if it's a good or a bad sign."

It seemed as though Evenepoel struggled to recover from his big effort in Dauphiné. "Sometimes extra rest is beneficial, because the Dauphiné was very demanding, and Remco had already reached a high level there."

The Dutchman now hopes Evenepoel can take a breather and restart himself for the remained of the season. "He especially needs mental rest. It's been a trying few months."

There are still some nice objectives up ahead for the double Olympic champion such as the European and World Championships where he can wash away some of the bitter taste left in his mouth after the failure of Tour de France.