"Remco is better prepared than last year" - Evenepoel's coach is optimistic ahead of Tour de France
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel will be defending last year's podium spot at the upcoming Tour de France. But it's not been a smooth run up to the Grande Boucle. Mikel Landa was going to once again be Evenepoel's key domestique, but after crashing out of the Giro d'Italia, that possibility can be almost entirely ruled out. Although the loss is very sensitive, the Belgian's coach has sent a serious warning to his rivals: Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.
"Remco is better prepared than he was last year. Then he started late in the high altitude training camp for the Criterium du Dauphiné, had difficulties at the beginning of that camp and really wasn't where we expected him to be," Koen Pelgrim began in an interview Het Nieuwsblad.
Remco Evenepoel will seek victory in Tour de France 2025
"After the accumulation of races in the spring, the rest week suited him very well and he was able to start the high altitude preseason at a pretty good level. In that sense, he is already a step ahead of last year," Remco Evenepoel's coach added about the cyclist.
Evenepoel puts its ordeal behind it
In December, Remco suffered a serious training injury. The Belgian missed the first few months of the season until he returned in April. Some claimed that this would affect him for the Tour de France, but nothing could be further from the truth. Evenepoel will be ready to duel with Pogacar, Vingegaard and whoever else rises up to challenge the 25-year-old at the Tour de France 2025.
"You can get back to a good level relatively quickly, but it's those last few percentages that are crucial. To do that, you have to be able to train consistently over a long period of time. We hope that Remco can gain those last two or three percentages in the next few weeks," concluded the Belgian's coach.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
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