Remco Evenepoel abandoned the 2025 Tour de France on stage 14 in order to preserve the rest of his season, his Soudal Quick-Step team have said.
The 25-year-old was dropped on the lower slopes of the Col du Tourmalet, the first of the day’s four big climbs, and he climbed into his team’s car shortly after once it became clear that he was unable to keep pace.
It marked the end of a difficult few days for Evenepoel who lost time in the race’s first mountain stage at Hautacam on stage 12, and was then overtaken by Jonas Vingegaard during the stage 13 time trial. At the start of the day he was 7:24 behind yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar.
Double Olympic champion Evenepoel, who won the stage five time trial in Caen, cut a despondent figure after finishing 12th in the Peyragudes TT, but he couldn’t identify why his climbing performances had been so lacklustre.
Tom Steels, Soudal Quick-Step’s lead sports director at the race, told TNT Sports that Evenepoel “didn’t feel great".
"He hoped for the best, he hoped it would turn at a moment, but it didn’t turn," he continued. He also didn’t have the legs to suffer. And then I also think it’s wise not to continue and [instead] recover well. He still has some goals this year and if he continues in the condition he had, maybe the rest of the season is lost.
“He is not himself. It’s the third day in a row that he doesn’t feel great and you have to be very careful not to go over the limit and lose months instead of days.”
Twelve months ago Evenepoel finished third at his maiden Tour and won the white jersey as the best young rider. He was expected to once again win the same classification, and possibly challenge Pogačar and Vingegaard for yellow. But after losing 39 seconds in crosswinds on day one, the Belgian has never looked like contending for the overall title.
“He was very disappointed that he had to leave the Tour,” Steels went on. “He was world champion on the road [in 2022], he is time trial world champion, and I think that [September’s World Championships in Rwanda] is his next goal.”
Evenepoel has also been the subject of intense speculation surrounding his future, with reports saying that he is set to leave Quick-Step early at the end of this season and join Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe. An announcement is expected in early August.
