"I did not want to get fully involved in the sprint" - Remco Evenepoel takes no risks on stage 2 of Criterium du Dauphine 2024
Cycling
In a thrilling finale to stage 2 of the 2024 Criterium du Dauphine, Soudal - Quick-Step leader Remco Evenepoel was notable by his absence as Magnus Cort Nielsen sprinted to victory ahead of Primoz Roglic and Matteo Jorgenson.
"I did not want to get fully involved in the sprint because Cort and Roglic were still present. Taking risks would not be wise in view of Tuesday's stage," reflects Evenepoel in a post-stage interview with In de Leiderstrui having rolled across the line in 27th position. "That will be a tough stage, so it is important that we can recover sufficiently towards that stage."
Evenepoel was very honest in his ambitions ahead of this year's Criterium du Dauphine, noting how in his first race back from injury just getting some racing into his legs was the most important thing ahead of his hotly-anticipated Tour de France debut later in the summer. It seems, with two stages now in the legs, those relatively modest goals have yet to change.
"I felt okay on the bike. It was pretty brisk, so it resulted in a fast stage," Evenepoel continues. "We were always with a tailwind. But so the feeling was pretty okay. I didn't get dropped, so that's positive. Of course, stages like this are not yet comparable to those at the end of this week. This was just a relatively easy hill stage."
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
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Another day done and dusted at the #Dauphine ✅
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