"It’s my wife’s name in Arabic" - Remco Evenepoel hopeful new tattoo can fire him to TT glory at the Dauphiné

After a quiet day for the main general classification favourites on stage 3 of the 2025 Criterium du Dauphiné, the fight to win the Maillot Jaune is set to spark into life on stage 4 as the likes of Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel do battle against the clock. For the latter, there is also some added inspiration since his last TT, in the form of a meaningful new tattoo.

In the end it was Movistar Team's Ivan Romeo that emerged victorious on stage 3, taking the Maillot Jaune in the process. For Evenepoel however, the decision by the peloton to allow a breakaway that included the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Florian Lipowitz and Eddie Dunbar to fight for the stage was a curious one. “I thought it was a strange decision by the GC contenders," Evenepoel explained to Sporza in his post-stage interview afterwards. "They are no small names. We had everything pretty well under control. The gap could have been a bit smaller, but in the end, we’ll have to live with it.”

Now though, Evenepoel has his own chance to take the win in the stage 4 individual time trial. “I race every time trial to win it. It’s the most important stage for us. It would be a great step forward in the overall standings,” says the TT world champion. “That it would also be the team’s 1,000th win? That would be a great bonus to achieve it as world champion and Olympic champion. For Patrick Lefevere, it would be a nice coincidence. It’s going to be quite a tough time trial, with a 2-kilometer climb at 9 percent. The yellow jersey? We’ll see.”

And as mentioned, Evenepoel fights against the clock with a very meaningful new tattoo. “I’m not the first and certainly not the last with a tattoo," he smiles when the topic is mentioned. "It’s my wife’s name in Arabic. It’s beautifully written.”