"It's tough, eh?" - Remco Evenepoel steps up Tour de France preparations with visit to Col de la Loze

For the second time in his career, Remco Evenepoel heads to the Tour de France in 2025. After a very impressive podium finish on debut last year, the Soudal - Quick-Step leader is arguably the best place rider to challenge the Tadej Pogacar - Jonas Vingegaard duopoly that has controlled the Grand Tour recent years.

Evenepoel, Vingegaard and Pogacar are all currently training hard at altitude in preparation for the coming battle, and for the former, that has involved a visit to the Col de la Loze. "It's tough, eh? It's very irregular," analyses the Belgian after having reached the summit, in a video posted to the Courchevel Sports Outdoor Instagram account. "The climb is very, very long. It's the longest climb of the Tour de France this year."

Whilst Evenepoel proved to have the advantage over Vingegaard and Pogacar in the time trial at the recent Criterium du Dauphine, the Olympic champion was notably still a level or two behind his main rivals in the mountains. Whether or not Evenepoel can close the gap in the weeks between now and then remains to be seen, but the Belgian is certainly not going to fail for the lack of trying.

"Arriving here is never easy, and it's the first time we'll be climbing from Courchevel," Evenepoel continues his analysis of the challenging 6.2km ascent, which averages 6.5%, just one of the challenges on the menu for the 'Queen Stage' of the Tour this year. "I think it will be a pretty tough stage with the Glandon and the Madeleine. It won't be easy, but it will be a great stage."