"I have to be honest, I suffered in the rain today": Remco Evenepoel limits the damage in the Vosges to save his podium spot

Remco Evenepoel overcame a difficult day in the Vosges to keep his Tour de France podium ambitions firmly alive. After being dropped on the final climb of stage 14, the Belgian produced an impressive chase over the closing kilometers, overcoming a brief hold-up behind race vehicles to minimize his losses and save the third place in the general classification.

Evenepoel was unable to match the accelerations of Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard on the steep slopes of the Col du Haag, cresting the summit around 25 seconds behind Vingegaard. However, thanks to a strong effort on the rolling terrain toward Le Markstein, he cut that deficit to just four seconds by the finish and crossed the line only ten seconds behind Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas.

The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider admitted that the weather had a major impact on his performance. “I have to be honest, I suffered in the rain today,” Evenepoel told Sporza. “I was quite cold, but in the end I did my own thing on the final climb. It was just a little too fast for me.”

Instead of trying to respond to every attack, Evenepoel chose to ride at his own pace before launching a strong comeback after the summit. “I think I still managed it quite well because I didn’t lose much time,” he said. “I felt I rode a strong final kilometre, or final kilometre and a half.”

His pursuit was briefly disrupted when he became trapped behind two race vehicles. “I was a little blocked between the Shimano car and the organisation car,” he explained. “I think they slowed me down a bit, but in the end I didn’t lose much time to the riders I’m fighting for the podium with.”

Evenepoel's comeback accelerated once he caught teammate Florian Lipowitz, with the pair immediately working together after their much-discussed disagreement following the Tourmalet stage. “When I got to Lipo, I shouted straight away that we had to work together as hard as possible towards the line,” Evenepoel said. “I think that worked well. We managed to limit the damage.”

Despite the difficult conditions, Evenepoel was encouraged by the outcome. “Considering the unusual weather conditions, I think we held up well. Tomorrow is another day.”

Stage 15 presents a very different challenge, with no descent or flat section after the final climb, but Evenepoel believes the profile may actually suit him better.

“It is a very different kind of stage,” he said. “There are some shorter climbs, a lot of up and down, then two serious climbs and the final ascent. The last climb is around 40 minutes, or a little less, at a fairly constant eight or nine per cent. That should suit me. I also rode it a few times during a training camp, so I know what to expect.”

The Belgian also dismissed suggestions that he was already thinking about Tuesday's individual time trial. “I try to finish as quickly as possible every day,” he said. “It wasn’t as though I was calculating on the final climb how much time I was prepared to lose. I was simply riding as hard as I could.”

Looking further ahead, he believes the Alpine stages could offer a different type of challenge than those in the Vosges. “They are long climbs and a little less explosive than what we have had here,” he concluded. “We will take it day by day. I am still third overall, if I’m not mistaken, so I have to be satisfied.”