Remco Evenepoel is naturally ambitious and never afraid to speak his mind but as the final countdown to the Grand Départ began on Wednesday, when it came to explaining his 2025 Tour de France goals, rather than overstate his case for a top result in Paris, the Soudal-QuickStep leader preferred to measure his words carefully.
Evenepoel is still hoping and aiming for another place on the final podium, he confirmed, perhaps alongside Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). He also wants to win the stage 5 time trial, which could even put him in the race leader's yellow jersey.
However, his winter training crash and complex shoulder injury has undermined his training and with it, his 2025 Tour ambitions.
"I had a pretty horrible winter, so we'll see how it goes over the next three weeks. A lack of good winter training is pretty annoying, so I have to take it day by day and accept the way the Tour goes," Evenepoel said during Soudal-QuickStep's final pre-race press conference.
"We'll try to do the same as last year, win a stage, preferably two, and then go for the podium again. I think that's a healthy and realistic ambition."
"We'll probably only be able to know if that is possible on July 27 at the finish in Paris. I'm just going to do my best every day again, and we'll see where the ship arrives in Paris."
During the press conference in the modern-looking headquarters of a team sponsor, Renson, Evenepoel smiled and seemed relaxed alongside his teammates, including sprinter Tim Merlier, who will aim for Saturday's first stage and the first yellow jersey in Lille. There was no sense of internal rivalry, both seemingly well aware they share team leadership and the pressures that go with it.
Evenepoel presented former Quickstep rider and former Belgian idol Tom Boonen with a special Specialized bike that celebrates the team's 1000 victories to date. Boonen secured 120 of them, with Evenepoel expected to write the 2025 chapter of the team's success.
Evenepoel has done his pre-Tour home work and is well aware of the dangers of the first week of the Tour across northern France.
"It's going to be hectic," he warned.
"The sprinters are looking forward to the first few days. Am I looking forward to it? No. But I have to do it.
"Saturday will be important for the team, and then we'll try to survive like everyone else. Then at the end of the week, we'll see if we're without any injuries and battle scars."
"It's about trying to survive. You can always have a plan A but in the first ten days we'll need a Plan B and even a Plan C. It's about being patient, starting out of trouble and up there together.
"Everyone knows that the real GC battle then starts from the second week with the Pyrenees and then the third week. The first goal is to get a stage win with Tim in the sprints or myself in the time trial. When that's done we can face the final weeks with less stress."
The yellow jersey after the stage 5 time trial?
Evenepoel was cautious but knows the first week offers him a chance of a stage victory in the stage 5 Caen time trial and perhaps the yellow jersey until the Pyrenees.
There is a mountain time trial up to Peyragudes on stage 13 but Evenepoel is focused on Caen.
"I only see one time trial. The second time trial is an uphill finish but everyone does it alone in an all out effort," he said dismissively.
"The first time trial is nice and not so difficult. I rode the Belgian nationals last week as a final preparation for stage 5. It's a nice opportunity to win, and maybe a yellow jersey to grab too. I'll do my best and attack the TT to try and win it."
Evenepoel is about to begin his second Tour de France. He won the 2022 Vuelta a España and is a former world champion but is a relative Tour novice compared to Pogačar, Vingegaard and others.
However he is a fast learner.
"Last year I learnt that when the legs are there, when you feel good, you really have to use them," he said in one of many separate interviews after the press conference.
"When you really struggle a bit, you have to try and ride as defensively as possible and make sure you don't lose too much time. Last year I was always a bit scared to go over the limits, and to really race, as I'm used to doing in the Classics. I think that's something that will change this year."
The rest of the team
Evenepoel attended the press conference with his seven Soudal-QuickStep teammates.
Bert Van Lerberghe is Tim Merlier's trusted lead-out man, with Maximilian Schachmann and Pascal Eenkhoorn also rouleurs. Evenepoel has limited support for the high mountains, with Mattia Cattaneo, Valentin Paret-Peintre and Ilan Van Wilder in the final selection.
Evenepoel is pragmatic about the strength of his team.
"We know that we we don't have the the huge qualities like UAE and Visma to really control racing in the mountains, but I think that's also why we came with a more of a rouleur team to to be up there in the first week, to have the big guys around me for the first 10 days, and then after that," he explained.
"It's going to be up to me and the climbers to be up there as long as possible. The team we have today is the best option that we had for this Tour."
Evenepoel avoided talking about the reports he may one day leave Soudal-QuickStep for a bigger budget, stronger Grand Tour team like Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Ineos Grenadiers or others.
"We have good guys in the team already. The riders here for the Tour are very strong. I think we just need a bit of fine tuning. I think we just have to be patient and give it some more time. We're working on that, I think we're doing transfers, For sure, one day we'll be up there."
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