“It’s silly seconds we’ve lost" - Remco Evenepoel reacts to shock time loss on stage 1 of 2025 Tour de France
Cycling
The 2025 Tour de France might only be one day old, but already Soudal - Quick-Step leader Remco Evenepoel is on the back foot against his Maillot Jaune rivals. In a shock opening stage disappointment, Evenepoel found himself missing from the lead group, ceding 39 seconds to Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and others at the line.
“We were more or less riding grouped together. I didn’t really feel like the pace was that high, but then it split," detailed Evenepoel in a post-stage interview with Sporza at the finish line. "We’d been riding well all day, but we let ourselves get lulled to sleep by the calm in the peloton. It was our mistake, collectively."
Clearly, losing such considerable time to the likes of Pogacar and Vingegaard on stage 1 is far from ideal for Evenepoel. The good thing is however, there is plenty of time left for the Belgian to put things right. “We have to accept it and shift our focus to tomorrow,” he analyses firmly.
On a doubly disastrous day for the Soudal - Quick-Step team, sprint hope Tim Merlier was also left behind by the decisive split. Evenepoel though, is more concerned by his own disappointment than his teammate's. “It’s a shame for me too, of course," says the Olympic champ.
"But there are still twenty days to go,” Evenepoel concludes. “It’s silly seconds we’ve lost, but last year I was 40 seconds behind after stage four — now it’s already after stage one. In the end, we just have to deal with it and focus on the day ahead.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 8visitors 8
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
- I'm picking .... .... Never mind 🫥flyer07-11-2026
- If Tiberi has a better and more consistent 2027 I somehow doubt it will be because of this victorious warning. Unless his preparation has been off, cycling isn't football.flyer07-11-2026
- Love this guy. He is such a pure racer.mij07-11-2026
- Fair enough. Everyone’s entitled to one and I respect yours! Nothing wrong with being a one week and GT guy if that’s his vibemij07-11-2026
- LOL...it's a predetermined finish ! N one is 'clashing' at these exhibition crits!frieders307-11-2026
- Surely the UCI and the race organisers have a responsibility to ensure the best medical care is available to riders when incidents like this happen. All very well pushing for global expansion but not so good if riders lives are put at risk because medical support is not up to scratch.Andy12306-11-2026
- Well it clearly helps that this was Pidcock's own car, no?Occam06-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment