"We're uncertain about his consistency in the high mountains" - Remco Evenepoel's climbing questioned despite Tour de France stage win
CyclingTuesday, 21 July 2026 at 11:40
Despite taking a mountain-top finish victory over Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro on Sunday, one analyst still has doubts around Remco Evenepoel's consistency in the Tour de France high mountains.
The Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe rider picked up his first-ever Tour road race stage and definitively beat the UAE duo in a sprint to the line, marking del Toro attacks in the final kilometer and holding off a surging Pogacar to raise his arms on stage 15 of the Tour.
The Belgian now sits in second place overall following Jonas Vingegaard's crash and abandon of La Grand Boucle, enjoying a comfortable grip on the podium but still five minutes behind yellow jersey Pogacar in the fight for overall victory.
Despite this step in the right direction, Cyrille Guimard has his doubts about Evenepoel's ability to hold that consistency after seeing him struggle in climbs earlier in the race when the GC riders did battle.
"We noticed he struggled on a few climbs, starting with the Tourmalet. So he remains in that zone where we're uncertain about his consistency in the high mountains," the legendary former rider and sports director told Cyclism'Actu.
Was Pogacar affected by 5am doping test?
"Yesterday, on the stage he won, he was up to the task. There's been a lot of talk about Pogacar making things a bit easier for him by not fighting like a man possessed in the final sprint."
Guimard thinks the best Pogacar wasn't on the saddle for stage 15, noting his 5am wake up call for a night time doping test potentially disrupting his recovery and climbing on Sunday's stage.
Nonetheless, UAE confirmed that Pogacar rode with del Toro's interests also in mind, meaning that Pogacar was at times using energy to pace the climb rather than saving for a stage bid.
"Personally, I didn't find Pogacar particularly aggressive yesterday compared to usual. Perhaps his five-hour wake-up call wasn't insignificant either. But I think we weren't seeing the best of Pogacar.
"And then, on the other hand, he was also somewhat protecting Del Toro, knowing that I think Del Toro had some difficulties on that climb. Let's not forget that it was quite sunny, and that he had some thigh pain for a while, so he stayed in a protective position. But I think he was no longer in contention to win the stage."
Remco Evenepoel celebrates stage 15 of the Tour de France 2026.
Evenepoel in podium battle with del Toro and Seixas
The podium battle raises many questions for the French legend, including Evenepoel's lack of racing before the Tour and if he can hold his high level of performance seen at the end of the second week. For him, del Toro and teenage sensation Paul Seixas are firmly in the battle for the podium.
"Right now, we're talking about Evenepoel. Will he be consistent enough? Or is he perhaps picking up the pace on the eve of this final week, considering he's been without any competition for so long, which, in my opinion, wasn't the best thing?
"Will he maintain the level we saw him at yesterday? Because clearly, he wasn't struggling on the climb, unlike what we saw at times. So, that leaves Evenepoel. And then we have Del Toro and Paul Seixas for the podium.
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Tuesday's time trial offers another chance for Evenepoel, and Guimard thinks he can put some time into Seixas but inflict more damage on del Toro. However, when it comes to making his podium prediction, was hesitant to proclaim any rider safely on the Paris top steps.
He added: "First, we have a time trial. I think Evenepoel is likely to open up a gap. Among others, perhaps not too much on Seixas, but certainly on Del Toro. And there are three huge mountain stages left.
"No one, objectively and mathematically speaking, can say today who will be on the podium and in what order. So my prediction is that we can't make it objectively and mathematically. We can speculate, but it's just a game."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Considering the level of superstardom he has achieved he remains remarkably down to earth and comes across as an all round pretty good person.mobk21-07-2026
- What a terrible crash. May he recover quickly and well. He’s been racing very well, and Remco was going to need him in the coming mountain stages.RidesHills21-07-2026
- OK, this is my take: Jonas didn't want to crash and break his collar bone... BUT ... at this moment Jonas, despite his injury, looks like he's in a good mood. Do you all know why? Because he knew, his team knew, they will never beat Pogačar...NEVER !!! Jonas is thinkig; "Thank god, it's over. My suffering against Pogi is over. Officially I didn't lose TdF, because I didn't finish." There will always be some people who will say "Maybe Jonas would have won if he hadn't crashed, you never know." We all see what BS is coming out of Marc Reef's mouth: "We had the race in our hands, and we were ready to give it a shot with him." ... He's trying to tell us between the lines: "Pogi is lucky, that Jonas crashed, he would have beaten him in week three, and won TdF." What a clown!!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales21-07-2026
- Terrible news of Florian Lipowitz crashing out. Wish him speedy recovery. It just reinforces the fact that victory is never certain until a rider crosses the finish line in Paris. I think the top 3 podium spots are going to be fought between Pogacar, Remco, Del Toro and Seixas barring any accidents.
PogiFan2Day21-07-2026 - If Paul rides within himself and only nears red on the final three mountain stages he will be on the podium. I said before the Tour started I didn't expect anything from him this Tour and that a top five, even a top ten would be an absolute success beyond imagination, being this is his first GT, if he podiums he needs to take a deal with Ineos immediately and he needs to run that team like Wiggins and Froome did.awp21-07-2026
- They didn't have the race in hand, they had the podium in hand.awp21-07-2026
- INEOS is getting worse. Not a top dog anymore.
KerisVroom21-07-2026 - They are testing but are they Lance era testing or active testing. Lance era was "oh, looks a bit high but he is a big drawl...it's fine". Active is, positive pull them out of the race and banmd197521-07-2026
- it hinders recover if you're using epo for recoverywhkman21-07-2026
- Success usually corrupts and makes one arrogant. This is very impressive.KerisVroom21-07-2026
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