“He is furious” – Remco Evenepoel reportedly training angry ahead of the Tour de France

Remco Evenepoel’s performance at the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné has raised alarm bells inside and outside his camp. Despite a brilliant time trial, he finished fourth place, over four minutes down on Tadej Pogacar, and beaten to the podium by young German Lipowitz, was not what the Belgian or his team expected. And with the Tour de France now just two weeks away, tensions are rising.

“Apparently he is furious,” Dirk De Wolf told Het Nieuwsblad, describing Evenepoel’s mood during altitude training in Tignes. “First of all, he is on his own. It has to improve.”

De Wolf, a former professional with close ties to the Evenepoel family, has been in contact with Remco’s father since the Dauphiné ended. While he made clear that Evenepoel is “koleirig” (furious) primarily with himself, the frustration also extends to the team setup.

“The team was not good in the Dauphiné: forty men in front and no one else with him. Remco who has to get refreshments himself. That has to improve in the Tour,” De Wolf said, capturing the isolation the Soudal – Quick-Step leader reportedly felt in the mountains.

The situation echoes last year’s run-in to the Tour. Evenepoel was seventh at the 2024 Dauphiné, only to bounce back with a strong Tour that included a stage win, the white jersey, and a third-place finish overall on debut. But this time there is added concern: Mikel Landa, a critical support rider last year, is no longer in the team after his injury at the Giro. And isolation was a recurring theme throughout this year’s Dauphiné.

While opinions differ on how much can be fixed in two weeks, De Wolf is cautiously optimistic. “Ilan Van Wilder will be there. I don't believe in Paret-Peintre. There's something wrong if a Frenchman isn't good in the Dauphiné,” he said. “Last year I heard about Landa: 'He was there, but he didn't have to do anything.' That's the point of course: he was there. If you see your mate, you're already helped.”

That small reassurance can be key in the mountains, and with Pogacar looking untouchable, the need for strong support is more urgent than ever.

But some are already rethinking Evenepoel’s role in the general classification battle. De Wolf believes his natural instincts don’t lend themselves to waiting in the bunch. “If I were Remco, I would wipe my ass off the classification,” he said bluntly. “Sorry, but racing like Simon Yates in the Giro, waiting, waiting, waiting, Remco can’t do that. He has to attack.”

In that spirit, both De Wolf and fellow Belgian legend Johan Museeuw see a different goal for Evenepoel at this year’s Tour: stage wins, and perhaps a brief spell in yellow. “And take yellow after the time trial. If you attack along the way, the rest have to follow anyway. If you’re good enough, that classification will come automatically,” De Wolf suggested.

Museeuw is less convinced about the team’s chances of improvement in July. “It won’t get any better in the Tour,” he warned.