"I should have gone with Remco, but I hesitated" - Maxim Van Gils regrets losing White jersey after not following Remco Evenepoel on San Luca

Maxim Van Gils entered the Tour de France on a high note, fighting for a result with the best riders in the world. While in the first stage, it was only enough for a fourth place, his display on San Luca was even more impressive. The Belgian held on to the group of favourites until Tadej Pogacar's acceleration.

"It went fast when Yates pulled through from bottom to top on the second time San Luca," Van Gils begins his story of the day at Sporza. "We were still with 5-6 men when Tadej accelerated on the intermediate section and there was a lot on that."

However the Lotto Dstny rider believes he could've finished in the same group as the Slovenian, had he not made a small tactical mistake. "I stayed with Jorgenson, Yates and Remco. On the second flatter part, Remco went behind and I hesitated for a moment. I should have gone with that, but I hesitated for a moment," he was disappointed afterwards.

The 24-year-old wore the White jersey after first stage in place of Frank van den Broek. As a result, Van Gils sees the white jersey end up around Evenepoel's shoulders."It's a pity, but it is true that the feeling is certainly good after the opening weekend. I had been working towards this and today I surpassed myself. I went up with the absolute world top."