He was the big favorite, and he assumed his status! Remco Evenepoel won this Wednesday the 5th stage of Tour de France 2025a 33 km time trial around Caen which he completed in 36 minutes and 42 seconds. The defending world and Olympic champion made his power speak on this route cut for his roller qualities, which allows him to win with 16 seconds on Tadej Pogacar . Jonas Vingegaard (Visma) in difficulty. This second victory on the Tour in two participations (after that on the time of Gevrey-Chambertin last year) allows him to go back to the 2nd row of the general, 42 seconds from the Slovenian but 29 “in front of the Danish. The Belgian was necessarily very satisfied when he managed his effort to perfection.
Video – Remco Evenepoel after his 2nd victory on the Tour de France
“I never really felt that I could go faster … My rhythm was perfect, and everything was to the point”
“You never know if we are going to win or not, because big rollers like Edoardo Affini can also do very well on this type of course, while saving a little more on the front stages. I knew that I was a good chance of winning, but the legs had to be there of course. Everything must take place as planned, and in the end I think it was not bad today“, explain Remco Evenepoel. “I never really felt that I could go faster, so I am generally happy with the result obviously. This is the second victory for the team (after Tim Merlier on Monday, editor's note) so it's great“. Delay on the leader Ailment In the first intermediary, the world champion gradually accelerated before irreparably make the difference in the second part of the race, with the favorable wind. “”I rolled rather constantly, I kept a regular rhythm from start to finish and it was my strong point I think. We saw it at the intermediaries, I always went back in the ranking each time, and I saved time on the last 7 km. My rhythm was perfect, and everything was to the point“He rejoices.
“One day I will come to win the Tour, but it's still too early”
Even if he was not able to stick a minute to Pogacar for a minute to resume yellow, Evenepoel still does a good operation to the general. “”It's a very good day. Tadej Pogacar made a very good time too, 16 seconds, it's quite tight. Compared to the Dauphiné, he clearly passed a course and it shows that he is in great shape. This is the reason why he is the man to beat on this Tour de France. Compared to the others, I did what I had to do and took as much time as possible to go back to the general classification. This is a bit the same situation as last year after the time. It is a nice step forward towards the podium, even if there is still a long way to go. Everyone knows what will happen the next two weeks … but it's always cool to get a victory. I'm just happy with my performance today, and I will try to continue like this. We are relaxed now and focused on the podium in Paris“He said.
“It's much better than the first step! Since then I feel that every day it is a little better and I hope that this will still be the case on the rest of the Tour. What happened on the Lille stage, it stings again. We fell asleep, it was an amateur error, but we can't change the past. You still have to target the podium in Paris and I am even more motivated than before. Following my fall this winter, I still have some shoulder pain, but you have to live with it and now I take advantage of the bike every day. When I see the Visma and UAE teams, it must be admitted that they are stronger than mine. This is also why we came with Tim, and now we have won two stages over five days of racing, there is something to be happy. With the legs he has, I hope that Tim will win others, maybe one, two or even three. As far as I'm concerned, one day I will come to win the Tour, but it's still too early“, He concluded.
