‘He would have finished second anyway’: Evenepoel's father on Vingegaard's Tour exit

Patrick Evenepoel has rejected the suggestion that his son's second place at this year's Tour de France was largely the result of Jonas Vingegaard's withdrawal.

Vingegaard crashed out on stage 15 while sitting second overall. Remco Evenepoel went on to finish the race 6:26 behind Tadej Pogačar, securing the best Grand Tour result of his career and improving on the third place he took on his Tour debut in 2024.

"I wouldn't dare say otherwise. My feeling tells me that he would have finished second anyway," Patrick Evenepoel told HUMO.

There was at least some evidence for that belief on the day Vingegaard left the race.

Evenepoel won stage 15 after Pogačar raised the pace on the final 11 kilometre climb, which averaged nine per cent. Only Isaac del Toro and Evenepoel were able to follow. Del Toro attacked twice inside the final kilometre, but Evenepoel came past him after the second move to claim the first road stage victory of his Tour career and move into second overall.

It showed that Evenepoel was the strongest rider behind Pogačar that afternoon. Whether he could have kept Vingegaard behind him over the final six stages remains open to debate.

The recent history of the Tour underlines the size of that question. Pogačar and Vingegaard occupied the top two positions in every edition from 2021 through 2025. Vingegaard won in 2022 and 2023 and finished second in the other three. Evenepoel reached the podium in 2024, but finished behind both riders.

What clearly changed in 2026 was Evenepoel's preparation.

It was his first Tour with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe after leaving Soudal Quick-Step, and his father believes the new environment helped him take another step.

"Sometimes you need a different environment to get better," he said.

Tim Heemskerk joined as Evenepoel's trainer in May. After Liège-Bastogne-Liège, rider and team committed fully to a training block focused on the Tour. Evenepoel did not race again before the Grand Départ.

For Patrick, that made the result in France particularly significant.

"That is why this Tour was so important," he said. "Imagine if it hadn't worked out, there would have been that question mark again. That is gone now."

Evenepoel has continued his form since the Tour. He won the Clásica San Sebastián for a fourth time and added the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec on Friday, beating Giulio Ciccone in a two rider sprint.

He now heads to Montréal chasing the time trial and road race double at the World Championships, a feat no male rider has achieved before.