"Not losing time on Tadej and Jonas, that’s the main goal" - Remco Evenepoel heads towards first mountain test of 2024 Tour de France on stage 4

With three stages down at the 2024 Tour de France, Soudal - Quick-Step leader Remco Evenepoel sits in 3rd in the general classification, level on time with race leader Richard Carapaz and the last two men to win the Maillot Jaune, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.

Whilst nothing was ever to be gained on the flat stage 3 that ended in a bunch sprint won by Biniam Girmay, things could easily have been lost for the general classification hopefuls, especially given the crash marred finale seen in Torino. As such, staying safe was priority number one for Remco Evenepoel and that goal was successfully completed.

“It was the first sprint stage of the Tour so everybody knows it’s going to be the most hectic one," reflects the Belgian, Tour de France debutant in his post-stage interview. "The first objective was to arrive safely to the finish which we succeeded in and beside that we were just going to wait and see what the result would bring out and in the end it’s the same situation with another leader but not me. In the end I think we succeeded in staying safe and arriving without any bruises and injuries. Nobody was really interested in the breakaway today I think everybody suffered quite a bit the last two days, so it was the perfect way to have a long recovery ride let’s say."

Looming large on the minds of all Maillot Jaune hopefuls, are the mythical slopes of the Col du Galibier, set to be tackled on stage 4. For Evenepoel, the first mountain challenge of the 2024 Tour de France comes with a clear goal. "First of all tomorrow I need to stay where I am without losing time on Tadej and Jonas, that’s the main goal," he explains. "If it’s a sprint finish with a small group for sure I will try, but we will have to see about the breakaway as there’s a big chance that they go again tomorrow. We’ll try to survive and get the best result possible.”