“You have to look at this performance and say something’s up” – Armstrong, Wiggins, Hincapie question Vingegaard and Visma’s Tour de France performance

Stage 5 of the 2025 Tour de France delivered a clear message: Remco Evenepoel is not just here to compete, he’s here to win. His time trial victory was as commanding as it was expected perhaps, and on The Move podcast, Lance Armstrong, Bradley Wiggins, and George Hincapie gave the performance its due.

“He showed us today why he is the champion he is,” Wiggins said. “To execute a performance like that… from the third split to the finish, the way he did… it was fantastic.”

Remco's ability to pull time back late in the stage, after being down at earlier splits, impressed the group. His ride not only secured the stage win but vaulted him into second overall on GC, just 42 seconds behind Tadej Pogaar.

“He went off before the other GC guys… the weather had changed a little bit… and he still finished strongest,” Wiggins pointed out, and Hincapie agreed: “To pull it off with the whole world expecting you to win is even more impressive.”

Kevin Vauquelin’s fifth-place finish and rise to third on GC didn’t go unnoticed either. “This kid has been getting better and better,” Armstrong said. “He’s not been seen as the next great French rider, but now he’s third in the Tour… the team he chooses next is going to define his trajectory.”

Still, much of the focus turned to the rider who lost the most: two time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane was many people’s favourite to wear the yellow jersey at the end of the stage, as he had comfortably beaten Pogacar when the Slovenian struggled in the Dauphine’s time trial. But, yesterday the tables were turned.

“He finished 13th on the stage… a minute and 21 behind. It just never looked like he was having a great ride,” Armstrong said. “You have to look at this performance and say something’s up.”

There was speculation that Vingegaard may be paying the price for repeated high-intensity efforts earlier in the race. The day before, on stage 4, the Dane said that he had achieved his best one minute power output on the day’s final explosive climb. “That might have something to do with it,” said Wiggins. “Perhaps the damage you do from those type of efforts… you’ve got to ride 33–36 minutes on the threshold.”

The group also questioned whether Team Visma | Lease a Bike would continue to back Vingegaard as sole leader.

“He’s on the back foot now… Matteo Jorgenson is right on his heels,” Wiggins said. “Visma really have to think about a two-pronged attack.”

Armstrong echoed the point: “Matteo can climb. Matteo has experience. Matteo is on the way up. They’re going to have to look at alternate solutions now.”

Meanwhile, Pogacar again left little doubt about his form, and incredibly was just 16 seconds behind Evenepoel in the time trial. “We’re running out of superlatives for this guy,” Wiggins said. “It’s hard to see anyone dislodging him over the next two and a half weeks.”

Looking ahead, Stage 6 was flagged as deceptively brutal, with plenty of climbing and an excellent finish for the puncheurs. This could be bad news for Vingegaard if he is still suffering, but good news for fans who want to see Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel battle again.

“You open it up… and think, ‘Oh lord,’” Armstrong said. “It looks like a saw blade.”

There was debate over whether UAE would try to control the race or let the breakaway go. “I’d be really surprised if they put UAE on the front to control that,” Hincapie said. “But someone always steps forward… someone always ends up working.”