Four days of racing remain at the UAE Tour. Still, even as early as this, Remco Evenepoel’s next race at the Volta a Catalunya is already looking essential when it comes to determining where he stands among the GC favourites for the Tour de France.
Despite the Belgian’s cramps and frustration, his team refused to turn this bad day into something more dramatic. What exactly resulted in a two-minute time loss for the Belgian superstar on stage 3 to Jebel Mobrah doesn’t matter so much in isolation; it just comes down to an off-day, but it’s a missed chance to make a statement.
Now, it would be no surprise to see Evenepoel bounce back with a crushing victory on Jebel Hafeet on stage 6 – just look at how he responded to his soul-crushing defeat on the Col du Tourmalet at the Vuelta a España in 2023 – though wrestling back a 1:44 deficit to snatch red seems unlikely.
Evenepoel’s focus will quickly turn to how he can improve and ensure a day like this doesn’t happen when the bigger appointments come around.
After completing the UAE Tour, Evenepoel won’t wait long before he heads to Mount Teide in Tenerife to sharpen his tools and raise his level for the Ardennes Classics and then the Tour de France.
Upon his return from that trip, which he’s doing alongside planned Tour co-leader, Florian Lipowitz, the Red Bull pair will head to the Volta a Catalunya, where a stacked GC field should…
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