Nathan Van Hooydonck, a former rider of Visma, believes that Remco Evenepoel will not be in the running for the overall victory in the Tour de France and he clearly explains why he thinks so.
Last year, Van Hooydonck himself rode the Tour de France, where he played a crucial role as a domestique on the flat stages for the overall winner Jonas Vingegaard. However, we all know the story of Nathan Van Hooydonck – he was diagnosed with a heart problem after a car accident. He is now working as an analyst and discussing the chances of Belgian Tour hopeful Remco Evenepoel.
In a recent interview with Het Nieuwsblad, Van Hooydonck, along with Evenepoel’s team manager Patrick Lefevere and Marc Sergeant, discussed the competition among riders like Pogacar, Vingegaard, Roglic, and Evenepoel. Sergeant expressed his hope that the battle for victory in the Tour would only be decided on the last day in Nice.
However, Van Hooydonck raises a point when it comes to Evenepoel. He questions, “Do we really expect Remco to win the Tour?” and he and Sergeant agree that it’s nearly foolish to talk about a Tour victory given the competition.
Van Hooydonck goes on to explain his reasoning. He highlights the fact that Evenepoel lacks experience in the Tour and that his preparation was less than ideal due to his crash in the Basque Country. While he acknowledges Evenepoel’s physical abilities, having ridden with him twice in the national team, he believes that given it’s Evenepoel’s first Tour with suboptimal preparation, winning should not be the main focus.
In conclusion, Van Hooydonck’s insights shed light on the realistic expectations for Remco Evenepoel in the upcoming Tour de France. Despite his talent, experience and preparation play a crucial role in determining one’s chances of winning such a prestigious race. It will be interesting to see how Evenepoel performs in his debut Tour and whether he can defy the odds to compete with the top contenders.