"Should you doubt Evenepoel now? No" - Belgian pundit does not believe there is reason to worry about Olympic Champion

The Criterium du Dauphiné is usually the best gauge ahead of the Tour de France every year and in 2025 it is perhaps the most accurate in years, taking into consideration we have Tadej Pogacar, Joans Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel all at the start in seemingly the same form, but showing different levels overall.

Evenepoel's is superior to that of 12 months ago in the same race and that is what Soudal - Quick-Step is focusing on. Yet, his level is still quite distant from those at the very top. "Yes, but I think that people still assumed that the difference would not be that big. Certainly not compared to a Florian Lipowitz."

"Should you doubt Evenepoel now? No, not at all, but they thought they were further along. It's possible that everything still has to come together, with that altitude training camp. The time-trial was already perfect."

Objectively speaking it seems very difficult for anyone at all in the peloton to reach the climbing level of Pogacar or even Jonas Vingegaard, but as he did last year when he finished third at the Tour, Remco Evenepoel may just be the one getting the closest.

After stage 7, in which Pogacar won but with a smaller margin over the rest of the field, de Cauwer, for Sporza, has not had the best feedback from Tadej Pogacar. "A little bit of fatigue with Pogacar, not so fresh and with somewhat dull eyes during the interview," he argues.

"But also with Vingegaard, who came even closer by squeezing out a final kilometre. You can clearly see that there is fatigue. They are not racing here like in the Tour, because this Dauphiné only lasts a week. Otherwise Pogacar would not attack so early," the Belgian believes - although chances are that the Slovenian will continue to use unpredictability to his advantage.