"Tadej Pogacar's arsenal of strengths can't be endless, can it?" - Remco Evenepoel must keep hope of rival's tiredness at Tour de France goes on says Serge Pauwels
Cycling
How Remco Evenepoel would fare on his Tour de France debut was a topic of much discussion ahead of the 2024 edition. As the race reaches its first rest day, the Belgian has so far been almost faultless and sits 2nd overall, just 33 seconds off the Maillot Jaune.
On Sunday's thrilling gravel stage 9 around Troyes, Evenepoel was an attacking protagonist, attempting to put himself on the front foot in the GC fight. Ultimately, he wasn't able to gain any time on rivals such as Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard or Primoz Roglic, but Belgian cycling icon, Sven Nys was very happy with what he saw in regards to his compatriot's performance on the mini-Strade Bianche type stage.
"Apart from Mikel Landa, everyone around him was dropped very quickly," Nys notes in his analysis for Sporza however, highlighting the fragility of the Soudal - Quick-Step team on the biggest test of the Tour de France so far. "Maybe that's why he thought: I'm here alone, so I'll try to isolate the others too. But that game didn't happen."
Six time Tour de France participant Serge Pauwels joined Nys to analyse things for Sporza, and the former Giro d'Italia stage too has a growing sense of optimism in regards to his compatriot. "We can be happy with Remco's temperament," Pauwels explains. "He still races with his gut feeling. However, he will also have to save his strength if he wants to reach the podium in Nice."
"I currently estimate him among the top three riders in this Tour, but then in place 2 or 3, because Pogacar stands out," concludes the 40-year-old former Team Sky rider. "The question is how those three riders will evolve during this Tour. Pogacar already has the Giro in his legs, his arsenal of strengths can't be endless, can it? That's what Evenepoel and Vingegaard must hope for. You can expect that the form of the last two is improving after that crash in the Itzulia Basque Country. If that all happens effectively, we will have a great fight."
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.
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- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026
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Today’s stage came with a new look 🤣😎
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