“We had a meeting with the riders after the stage... We were all quite frustrated” - Quick-Step & Evenepoel look to put stage 1 time loss behind them at Tour de France

In a major blow to his hopes of challenging Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel finds himself already 39 seconds down after stage 1 of the 2025 Tour de France. To make matters worse for Soudal - Quick-Step, their sprinter Tim Merlier was also caught out in the finale of the opening day, missing a chance to sprint for the Maillot Jaune.

Understandably, 'The Wolfpack' and their staff held a post-stage debrief afterwards to try and work out exactly why things went quite so badly wrong for Evenepoel and Merlier. “We had a brief meeting with the riders after the stage,” Soudal - Quick-Step sports director Klaas Lodewyck explained at the start line of stage 2 to Sporza. “We rode very well until about 40 kilometres from the finish, but after that things went wrong. We talked it over, and today is a new day. Not just the riders — we were all quite frustrated by the situation. Everyone’s on alert.”

Whilst it's unlikely Evenepoel will get the chance to put things right on stage 2, there is more possibility that Merlier will get an opportunity to sprint for the stage win. For that to be the case however, Soudal - Quick-Step must be much improved from their stage 1 performance.

“We need to see how the finale unfolds, but you have to be there. And if possible, we’ll definitely be involved,” Lodewyck explains. “The finale is very technical, and hopefully the rain clears up in the next few hours — but you mustn’t underestimate it.”

They aren't taking to the start line with thoughts of revenge in their minds though, merely looking to bounce back strongly. “No, because then you’re forcing it," Lodewyck concludes. "We just need to race as we planned — actually, even before yesterday. Take the hits and now hit back? Not necessarily, but we definitely need to be in the mix.”