“I think Remco just wanted to see how the others would react" – Soudal – Quick-Step adamant that Evenepoel is in strong position

Stage 11 of the 2025 Tour de France will soon get underway, with Remco Evenepoel holding onto third place in the general classification. The Belgian sits a minute behind race favourite Tadej Pogacar, but has a slim 17-second advantage over Jonas Vingegaard. At the top of the standings, it's Ben Healy wears yellow, the first Irish man to do so in nearly 40 years since Stephen Roche.

Evenepoel attempted to make a move the day before the rest day, launching an attack on the final climb. But Pogacar and Vingegaard were quick to respond, closing the gap and ultimately costing Evenepoel six seconds by the finish. It could have been a lot more, as the winners of the previous 5 Tours slowed down towards the finish line.

"On the final climb, I think Remco just wanted to see how the others would react. The fact that he tried was because he felt there was still pressure. Otherwise, he would have stayed calm so as not to provoke anything," said Klaas Lodewyck, sports director at Soudal – Quick-Step.

Evenepoel’s teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre was part of the early break, but couldn’t hold the pace. "Today's climbs weren't made for me," he said. "It never got really steep, so it went very fast. Those are just not the efforts I excel at." Lodewyck put it more bluntly: "When you see how many guys dropped out of that early breakaway, it's not surprising that someone weighing just over 50 kilos had to give in to those slightly bigger bikes."

The French rider's efforts weren’t completely in vain. Though he didn’t contest for the win, he played a tactical role in case Evenepoel needed support. "You do something like that with different possible approaches," Lodewyck explained. "To be able to support Remco if he really wanted to try something, or to let them wait to help him if he got a bit down in the final. But in the end, the breakaway's lead was so big that Valentin was allowed to try and go for the stage win. Remco gave that signal himself." Paret-Peintre admitted he had no illusions: "But winning was never on my mind."

Despite being dropped, Paret-Peintre appears to be improving. "This day really did me good," he said, referencing his recovery from a crash on stage four. "I wouldn't call it a bad first week for me personally, but I know I always need some time to get into the swing of things in Grand Tours. I hope to be even better in the Pyrenees. There will also be more fatigue in the peloton then, and I'm someone who recovers well." Lodewyck added, "Valentin is usually at his best in the third week."

The absence of Mikel Landa, Evenepoel’s usual climbing lieutenant, is still being felt. Landa crashed out badly of the Giro d’Italia in May, and his loss has only intensified speculation that Evenepoel could soon leave Soudal – Quick-Step for Red Bull – BORA – Hansgrohe, where he would have an improved support cast.

Still, although Remco appears to be some way off the top 2 for now, he is still in pole position for the third spot on the podium, and to in the white jersey classification. Given he has already won a stage, there are plenty of reasons to be positive at this stage.

During the final moments of that mountain stage, Paret-Peintre was still hanging on. "I offered a water bottle, but he didn't need one at that point. I felt I was still able to keep up with the favorites' pace for a while, but when Kuss attacked again, I was too far behind."