Remco Evenepoel won a Tour de France road stage for the first time in his career on the climb to Plateau de Solaison, adding a major breakthrough to his race after a chaotic day that also saw Jonas Vingegaard withdraw.
The stage had already been shaped by the work of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe at the front before UAE took over for the decisive move on the final climb. Tadej Pogacar accelerated with Isaac Del Toro in his wheel on the 11-kilometer ascent, but Evenepoel followed the move and then beat Pogacar in the sprint at the finish.
A rare result for a Belgian rider
The victory stood out not just because it was Evenepoel’s first Tour de France road stage win, but because a Belgian rider winning a mountain stage from the favorites group is described as rare this century. It was also a notable turnaround in the context of this Tour, where Evenepoel had not been among the best five earlier in the race.
The climb itself demanded steady effort across 4,000 meters of elevation gain, with the steepest sections reaching 9 percent. Evenepoel handled that test well enough to stay with Pogacar when the race came down to the strongest riders on the road.
What the result means
After the stage, Evenepoel was listed second overall, 5 minutes behind Pogacar at +5'0. That keeps him firmly in the general classification fight, even with Pogacar still holding the upper hand.
The day also carried major consequences elsewhere in the race. Before the stage, Vingegaard had a short night because of a doping control. During the stage, he crashed on a roundabout and withdrew from the Tour de France, changing the overall picture around the front of the race.
For Evenepoel, though, the headline is straightforward: the first Tour de France road stage win of his career is now in the books, and it came in one of the biggest mountain moments of the race.
