"Some teams rode today as if they were there to support Pogacar and UAE" - Remco Evenepoel critical after surviving stage 12 with Tour de France podium intact

After being dropped worryingly early on stage 12 of the 2025 Tour de France, Remco Evenepoel showed a lot of heart and maturity to ride at his own pace, limit losses and keep his podium hopes intact.

Initially dropped with more than 50km to go, Evenepoel threaten to completely explode. Recovering strongly however, the Soudal - Quick-Step leader actually got back into contact with the GC group ahead of the final climb. From there, he again just rode at his own pace, eventually coming home in 7th, 3:35 down on the runaway stage winner Tadej Pogacar, but very much in contact with the rest of his rivals.

"I didn't have the best feeling from the very start of the race. Even on the flat sections, my legs felt heavy. On the climbs, I tried to find my rhythm and do a kind of 50-kilometre time trial. It was a long battle against myself, with my head and my legs," reflected Evenepoel in his post-stage interview afterwards, having done enough to retain his position of 3rd overall in the GC.

"It’s not that I raced smart – it was just the only way to race today, I couldn't race any other way. I fought with the Paris podium in mind," he adds. "After all, the gaps to Tadej were very big, but with the others it was okay. I hope to be better tomorrow so I can do something with the time trial. I want to stay calm and, day by day, forget about this bad day. Tadej was head and shoulders above everyone else today. There are still ten days of racing left, but he's taken a big step towards winning the Tour de France."

Evenepoel wasn't totally impressed by the tactics of some rival teams however, hitting out are their questionable racing. "Some teams rode today as if they were there to support him (Pogacar) and UAE, which is not the right way to do things," concluded the Olympic champion. "The mentality needs to change, especially when the Yellow Jersey is already so far ahead."