Remco Evenepoel meant to check himself within the finale of stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, and he duly readied himself on the wheel of Primož Roglič on the shallow rise in the direction of the end at Les Estables.
A sluggish puncture, nevertheless, meant that the duel by no means materialised. Moderately than contest stage victory, Evenepoel was content material to handle the state of affairs and roll dwelling in the primary peloton, three seconds down on the day’s winner Derek Gee.
“In the long run I had a small flat tyre – not an entire flat however a sluggish puncture,” Evenepoel defined afterwards. “It was fairly robust to maintain going with that within the final 3k, however in any other case I might have misplaced a number of time, so it was robust. I needed to work onerous, however I managed to stick with the group.”
The Critérium du Dauphiné marks Evenepoel’s return to competitors after fracturing his collarbone within the mass crash at Itzulia Basque Nation, and he downplayed expectations earlier than the race started, insisting that he had few ambitions past bettering his situation forward of his Tour de France debut.
On the Col de la Loge on Monday, Evenepoel had most well-liked to not attempt to chase stage victory, however he approached the finale of stage 3 with a distinct strategy, at the very least till he felt his tyre begin to deflate.
“I actually needed to go for it immediately however as soon as I felt I had the sluggish puncture, it was recreation over,” Evenepoel mentioned. “I felt good, and I needed to go for it. We mentioned within the race we have been going to strive as a result of the final ok was actually not simple in any respect. It was a end that ought to have suited me, however the tyre determined in a different way. Now it’s time to give attention to tomorrow.”
Evenepoel faces the primary actual examination of his kind within the demanding 34.4km time trial from Saint-Germain-Laval to Neulise on Wednesday. Because the world champion within the self-discipline, Evenepoel is the logical favorite for stage victory, whereas the course gives a really helpful check forward of the 2 time trials on the Tour.
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“I believe it’s a really robust time trial,” mentioned Evenepoel, who has been warming down on his time trial bike all week. “It’s nearly pan flat at first after which about 15km into the TT, it begins to roll up, a bit like immediately truly.
“It’s a TT that’s fairly lengthy, so you must tempo it properly and be sure to have one thing for the ultimate half. It’s one I like. I used to be trying ahead to this one already throughout the altitude camp.”
Evenepoel received his first time trial of the yr on the Volta ao Algarve, however a crash denied him on the opening day of Itzulia Basque Nation, the place he positioned fourth in a brief check received by Roglič.
Their duel on Wednesday is more likely to be the story of the day, not least as a result of each males will view the Tour de France time trials as pivotal to their hopes of beating Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar.
This yr’s Tour de France encompasses a 25km particular person time trial to Gevrey-Chambertin within the opening week, whereas the race concludes with a troublesome, 34km check from Monaco to Good that takes within the climb of La Turbie and the Col d’Èze.
“If there’s one stage I am on this week, it is Wednesday, simply to see how my shoulder comes via it,” Evenepoel advised RTBF. “After that, we’ll see how my legs carry out. If I get a superb end result, I am going to be capable of go away this Dauphiné feeling good. It will likely be an essential day. I will be aiming for the rostrum, and we’ll see what our rivals do. If it ends with a win, a lot the higher.”
Within the total standings, Evenepoel lies thirty third total, 13 seconds behind the yellow jersey Gee and 6 seconds down on Roglič.
Soudal-QuickStep directeur sportif Tom Steels echoed Evenepoel’s ideas, insisting that the Dauphiné was a way to an finish somewhat than a objective in itself.
“A very powerful factor is that he feels higher day after day and that he has good sensations on the finish of the Dauphiné,” Steels advised RTBF.
“We’ll see the place we’re after the time trial. A time trial of that distance is all the time a superb check. He will probably be very motivated for that, particularly with the rainbow jersey on his again. He’s going to do all the pieces to be the very best.”
