In 2024, it will be Remco Evenepoel’s first participation in the Tour de France. With impressive achievements such as a victory in the Vuelta a España, a World Champion title, and two wins in Liège-Bastogne-Liège already in his resume at the age of 23, there are high expectations about his chances of competing for the Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey).
Eurosport specialist Jens Voigt, a former winner of two Tour de France stages, has nothing but praise for the Belgian’s prospects. “He has put on several shows and has no fear,” says the Eurosport specialist, the German Jens Voigt. “He is always spectacular no matter what happens, and I was pleasantly surprised by his comeback, the way he came out of the swamp (referring to his comeback after the Vuelta crash) on his own, without any help,” Voigt continues. “I think he has taken a big step in his personal development, and I think now he is really ready to go for it in the Tour de France.”
With the duo of Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard deciding the last three Tour de France titles, the addition of Evenepoel brings a new and interesting dynamic to the group. “Let’s just look at the facts: he is 23 years old and has completed four Grand Tours in his career so far,” says Voigt.
“He has won once, failed twice, had a breakdown in this Vuelta, but then won three stages spectacularly. Reliability still seems to be missing, perhaps because he practiced another sport for a long time and didn’t start from scratch.”
“He seems to have difficulty digesting it when things don’t go well, that is, in a single stage. He loses almost 30 minutes and immediately joins the front group the next day. If he were physically bad, it wouldn’t work,” the German commentator concludes.