Remco Evenepoel’s abandon part way up the Tourmalet opens up competition for the GC podium – and the white jersey competition at the 2025 Tour de France.
Cor Vos
Remco Evenepoel has abandoned the Tour de France during stage 14, 100 km left of the stage, and 7 km from the top of the first of four brutal mountain ascents in the Pyrenees.
The incumbent leader of the Best Young Rider classification lost touch near the foot of the Col du Tourmalet, the most significant mountain of the race so far, showing all the signs of a man in a pit of struggle. Alone at first, the double Olympic champion was soon joined by Soudal-QuickStep teammate Pascal Eenkhoorn, but he only lasted about seven kilometres before swinging over and resigned himself to his fate, soft-pedalling as he waited for his team car.
“I didn’t have the best preparation coming into the Tour, but I did everything I could to be in the best possible shape,” Evenepoel said later, quoted in the team’s post-stage release, “but I just wasn’t at 110%, which is what you need at the Tour de France to fight for the general classification. For three days already I wasn’t feeling good, and today in the morning I could feel I was empty and on the climb the legs just weren’t there. It’s a pity I had to retire, but it’s not something that will change my relationships with the race.”
The 25-year-old Belgian was still sitting in third overall at the start of stage 14, but he’s been having a hard time of it since the Tour entered the Pyrenees on Thursday’s stage 12. Evenepoel lost touch on the Col du Soulor, reliving the horrors he experienced on the nearby Col d’Aubisque at the 2023 Vuelta where the then-reigning champion lost almost 27 minutes on GC by the end of the stage, slipping from third to 19th overall with a week still to go.
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