"He was just as strong as them" - Evenepoel's sports director saw in him a rival for UAE in Montjuic

Stage 2 of the 2026 Tour de France saw the first head-to-head clash between all of the contenders for the yellow jersey. Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas were all active and so was Remco Evenepoel, who showed tremendous legs on the final ramp and could've gone further than settling for third at the finish line behind the UAE Team Emirates - XRG duo.

"Being competitive without having raced for three months is very good for Remco, but I had no doubt about that. However, I'm a little disappointed right now because we wanted to win this stage and there was certainly a way to do better," Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe DS Patxi Villa said in words to Cyclism'Actu.

Evenepoel himself admitted that an error in positioning might have costed him the victory, as he entered the climb with a small gap behind the riders ahead - expecting them to slow down at the start of the ramp and to then attack them. That did not happen, and so the energy spent in closing the gap down took away from the sprint he could have towards the line.

"Remco lost a few meters in the final corner; Del Toro and Pogacar were already ahead. It's a shame because he was just as strong as them. In the Tour de France, every opportunity that slips away, especially so close, is always a disappointment," Villa admitted. "But overall, I'm obviously not going to complain."

But in the bigger picture, the Olympic Champion's near-miss is unlikely to carry big consequences for the overall classification and the final outlook of the race. He was still able to take four bonus seconds, and another three on the road for podium rivals such as Paul Seixas and Juan Ayuso - whilst taking 10 seconds on the road to his teammate Florian Lipowtiz.

"Yes, it's good to be on the podium. We wanted to try to win, but it wasn't possible today. We found a superb winner in Isaac Del Toro, but also Tadej Pogacar. We're third, which isn't bad, but we want more. It's always good to pick up a few bonus seconds, and now we're in a good position on the podium. It's good, we got off to a good start, but I'm not 100% satisfied. I think we could have done a bit better. In the last right-hand corner, Remco was a bit too far back; he had to sprint to try and catch them, and by then his legs were already heavy, it was no longer possible".

After the Barcelona Grand Depart, Evenepoel and Lipowitz are third and eighth in the overall classification - 15 and 45 seconds away from the yellow jersey Vingegaard. "But yes, we're happy. For the moment, our two leaders, Remco and Florian Lipowitz, are doing well. With Remco, we've seen in the past that he can be immediately competitive without having raced just before. I think he's off to a good start in this Tour de France. Tomorrow is another day."

The team faces another hilltop finish this Monday afternoon at Les Angles, a stage that has been threatened by wildfires in the region. However soon after, and still in the Pyrenees, the riders will face the race's first decisive stage on the sixth day, with the Col du Tourmalet set to be tackled.

"When you see victory so close on the Tour de France, well, it's normal to have regrets. In fact, we got off to a good start, that's the most important thing. Our strategy is to build momentum throughout the race, to get better and better. We'll see what happens next," he concluded.