Evenepoel hindered by Tour cars

The Belgian was unable to respond to the increased pace at the steepest point of the final climb. He crossed the summit about thirty seconds behind Jonas Vingegaard , but made up almost all of his ground in the final kilometers, finishing just four seconds behind the Dane. He also finished just ten seconds behind Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas .

According to Evenepoel, the cold and rain significantly affected his performance before the decisive stage.

"I have to be honest: I suffered a lot in the rain today," he explained to Sporza . "I was quite cold. On the last climb I tried to go at my own pace, but the pace up front was a little too fast for me."

Rather than respond to every acceleration, Evenepoel preferred to manage the effort without over-revving. The best part of his race came after the summit, when he took advantage of the uneven course towards Le Markstein to recover much of the lost ground.

"I think I handled the situation quite well, because in the end I didn't lose much time," he said. "I ran very fast in the last kilometer, maybe even the last kilometer and a half."

His comeback was temporarily hampered, however, when he found himself squeezed between the Shimano neutral assistance car and an organisation vehicle.

"I got stuck between the two cars a bit, and I think they slowed me down," he said. "Fortunately, I didn't lose much ground to the riders I'm fighting with for the podium."

The situation improved when Evenepoel caught up with Florian Lipowitz. The Belgian immediately asked the German rider to help him until the finish.

"When I reached Lipo, I immediately shouted to him that we had to work together and push hard until the finish. The collaboration worked well, and we managed to limit the damage."

The understanding between the two seemed much better than it had been during the Tourmalet stage, when Evenepoel expressed disappointment at Lipowitz's lack of assistance in preparing for the sprint. This time, once they were reunited, they both worked together without hesitation.

"Considering the unusual weather conditions, I think we held up well," Evenepoel concluded. "Tomorrow will be another day."

A smoother final climb could help him

Sunday's stage will present a very different scenario: after the final climb, there will be no descent or flat sections where he can make up ground, as was the case on Saturday. Evenepoel, however, doesn't seem particularly worried, believing a longer, more steady climb would better suit his characteristics.

“It will be a completely different stage, with some short climbs, a lot of rolling sections and then two challenging climbs before the final climb,” he explained.

"The final climb should take about forty minutes, maybe a little less, with a fairly steady gradient of eight or nine percent. In theory, it's the kind of effort that suits me. Plus, I've already tackled it several times during training camps, so I know what to expect."

Evenepoel also dismissed the suggestion that his goal is simply to defend his position in the standings until Tuesday's time trial.

"Every day I try to get to the finish line in the shortest time possible. On the last climb, I wasn't calculating how many seconds I could afford to lose: I was simply going as fast as I could."

The time trial remains one of the most important opportunities to make up ground. First, however, Evenepoel intends to use all his energy in Sunday's mountain stage.

"Tomorrow I'll have to give it my all again and try not to waste time. Then, on Tuesday, I'll try to recover as much as possible and also fight for the stage victory."

The Tour will then move to the Alps, where the Belgian expects longer and less explosive climbs than those he has faced so far.

"The climbs will be longer and probably less violent. We'll continue to evaluate the situation day by day. I'm still third in the overall standings, so I have to consider myself satisfied."