"Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong are not stupid, they know a little about cycling" - Cyrille Guimard agrees that Remco Evenepoel is unlikely to challenge for Tour de France victory in 2024
Cycling
The prospects of Remco Evenepoel as he prepares to make his Tour de France debut in 2024 have been much discussed since the announcement of the route and profiles and the Belgian's hopes of taking the Maillot Jaune continue to cause contention.
“It's his first Tour de France. Okay, he already won the Vuelta, but the Tour de France is a different ballgame," Johan Bruyneel recently said in conversation with Lance Armstrong on 'The Move' podcast. "I don't think he can be expected to compete for the podium. He still has to learn the tricks of the Tour. There really is a big difference with the Tour. Especially if those three boys remain fit and nothing happens to them, Evenepoel will not be able to threaten them."
In his column for Cyclism'Actu, Cyrille Guimard has expressed his agreement with this statement, also casting doubts on the Soudal - Quick-Step's leaders hopes of winning his first Maillot Jaune in 2024. "Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong are not stupid, they know a little about cycling," says the Frenchman. "For me, Evenepoel has the means and the potential to win the Tour de France, but I find it heavy and every time I see him, I wonder if he doesn't have one or two extra kilos."
"I don't find him sharp like a Vingegaard, a Pogacar or a Sepp Kuss," he clarifies. "And now, on the Grand Tours, you shouldn't have one gram too much, otherwise you pay for it. As soon as you pass the 7% slope or a certain altitude, he is much less aerial. I think he should pay attention to his diet."
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 6visitors 6
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
Loading
2 Comments