Those who expected attacks among the top leaders in the general classification ended up disappointed. Remco Evenepoel anticipated this, with heavy mountain stages ahead on Friday and Saturday. “That was obvious. It was a calm day,” Evenepoel admitted in a conversation with the Belgian channel Sporza.
“There was an early break with Geraint Thomas, who was the closest rider in the general classification, about 14 minutes behind, so it wasn’t dangerous at all,” said the Belgian from Soudal Quick-Step. “In the final kilometer, everything got bunched up, but we got through the day well. It wasn’t really a full-on race; I just wanted to keep the pace high.”
Nonetheless, Evenepoel made a revelation: “I must say that the first hour was quite painful. The roads were wide and slightly uphill. It wasn’t very pleasant, but it got me to the finish. If tomorrow is calm as well, I hope to be ready for Friday and Saturday.” Thus, the Belgian makes it clear that the attention of the top teams is focused on Friday and Saturday.
Therefore, nothing has changed in the classification for the Belgian. Evenepoel is still in third place, 1 minute and 09 seconds behind the leader Sepp Kuss, and the Soudal-Quickstep cyclist remains the leader in the young rider classification.