The 2025 Tour de France kicked off with a chaotic 184.9km stage around Lille, and for Remco Evenepoel, it was a day to forget.
The Soudal-QuickStep rider found himself on the wrong side of a critical peloton split caused by crosswinds in the final 15 kilometers, losing 39 seconds to rivals Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.
Stage 1, expected to favor sprinters, turned into a GC battleground when Visma-Lease a Bike’s aggressive tactics in windy conditions fractured the field. Evenepoel, alongside Primoz Roglic, was caught in a chasing group as the front peloton, led by Alpecin-Deceuninck, powered to the finish.
Philipsen claimed the stage win and the first yellow jersey, while Evenepoel’s group crossed the line nearly 40 seconds behind, a significant deficit on a flat opening stage.
“I wasn’t expecting it [to split] anymore. We kind of fell asleep a little bit,” Evenepoel admitted post-race, reflecting on the moment the race slipped away.
“It was a hectic finale, and we got caught out. The wind made it tricky, and we just weren’t positioned well enough when Visma pushed the pace. I almost went down there, but I managed to stay up. It was a wake-up call for sure.”
For Evenepoel, a podium finisher in 2024, this early setback is a blow but not a knockout. With two time trials upcoming, including a 33km test on stage 5 in Caen, he has opportunities to claw back time.
