🇧🇪 REMCO EVENEPOEL WINS THE ITT ! 🇧🇪 @EvenepoelRemco REMPORTE LE CONTRE-LA-MONTRE ! #TDF2024 l @Continental_fr
"I was pretty sure I had a puncture" - Remco Evenepoel survives late scare to take ITT win on Tour de France debut
CyclingFriday, 05 July 2024 at 17:54
The world champion in the discipline, Remco Evenepoel started the day as pre-race favourite ahead of the first individual time trial of the 2024 Tour de France. That's how things turned out too, as the Belgian put time into all his Maillot Jaune rivals, taking the first stage win of his Tour career.
"It’s crazy!" the Soudal - Quick-Step leader reflected in his post-stage interview. "I was on a good day, the climb was pretty tough. I wanted to start fast, and I had to keep something for the climb which wasn’t easy. The descent, when you’re on the limit, it was pretty technical and fast. I enjoyed every metre of this TT, and coming out with this win is simply amazing. I’m very happy."
In the end, Evenepoel put 12 seconds into Tadej Pogacar, 34 into Primoz Roglic and 37 into Jonas Vingegaard. Could it have been even more though? With just over 2km of his effort to go, the Belgian put his arm in the air, slowed and seemed to have a gearing issue. According to the man himself however, Evenepoel believed he had suffered a puncture.
"I was pretty sure I had a puncture actually, maybe someone dropped some glass, it made exactly the same sound like a puncture, so I was a bit scared," he expains of the incident. "But after a few hundred metres further I knew nothing was wrong, so I had to keep going, with a bit of scaredness in my head. I thought it was a slow puncture maybe. I wasn’t too sure in the last corners, but I had to take risks because I knew Tadej was close to me. 13 seconds is amazing. It was a close one, but I just wanted to win today. So I’m very proud."
Whilst it wasn't quite enough to claw the Maillot Jaune from Pogacar's shoulders, Evenepoel is now just 33 seconds behind the race leader. "We weren’t really thinking about the time gaps on GC, we just wanted to take the win," Evenepoel concludes. "That’s done, so a perfect day for me and my team. Took some time on the others, so mission accomplished, so now we have to focus on tomorrow and Sunday. Tadej is going to be pretty unreachable, but it’s racing, you never know what will happen. The more into the race I go, the better I’ll feel. We’ll focus more on the podium probably, and we just have to go for it and enjoy this Tour."
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- And your point is what exactly?vappaxbipmv22-12-2024
- MVDP dominates this sport even more than Pogaçar dominates road racing. Also he can beat Tadej on the road quite regularly, the opposite is unlikely.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- If you listen to team radios you'll hear each DS telling their riders to ride faster, fight their way to the front, and all occupy the same 8 places.Sweep22-12-2024
- You're talking about a sport where equipment and clothing is measured in grams.Sweep22-12-2024
- “During a TT, I am basically blind”. That was his quote after crashing into the barriers in a TT. The problem isn’t the UCI, radios or air bags. The problem is the riders and their teams.JoeyB22-12-2024
- I think you overestimate scientific knowledge and for sure the spreading of it. There are huge numbers of people in similar situations, if there were an easy solution somebody would be making big money out of it. Nerve pain can have many complex origins or be due to complex combinations of reasons. Even if you discover a reason there is not always a solution. Migraines haven’t been solved either. I have had lower back/hip nerve pains on and off for over 30 years, no kind of doctor has ever found a way to reduce, prevent or solve the problem. It may just be that some people are born with nerves that are too short or get twisted out of position during certain movements.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- Amazing ride by her and very promising for her future. On a side note, it’s a bit worrying all these wins riders have after emotional moments in their lives, someone will come up with emotional doping at some point. Maybe give them fake news just before a big race to get hormones pumping.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- I doubt he will have the energy to do that if he continues to do leadout for Phillipsenabstractengineer22-12-2024
- I know several people who’ve tried contacting sport airbag manufacturers and none of them ever got a reply. Might be hard to organise anything with such attitudes.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- It's the BBC. Who cares outside of little Britain.leodis22-12-2024