'I shouldn't give up on the dream' - Evenepoel reaches Paris with Grand Tour hopes restored

Although Evenepoel won the Vuelta a España in 2022 and placed third on his Tour debut in 2024, he was struck by inconsistency and ill fortune across his other Grand Tour appearances. 

Evenepoel moved to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe last winter with the express aim of ironing out those issues, but his spring stage race performances were underwhelming. He later opted against any June racing ahead of the Tour, preferring to prepare with training camps as he chased his best climbing condition. 

Placing second on the Tour seemed to offer vindication of Evenepoel’s approach, even if he played a relatively straight bat when it was put to him in Paris on Sunday evening.

“I’ll leave that to you,” Evenepoel told Sporza. “My career goal is to finish on the podium of as many Grand Tours as possible and to try to win them.

“I’ve said it before: I can’t just let that slip away. In that regard, I was proven right with this result.”

Evenepoel won two stages at this Tour en route to placing second overall, 6:26 behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). He had set out as Red Bull’s co-leader with Florian Lipowitz, but he asserted himself with stage victory at Plateau de Solaison before the German crashed out in the time trial two days later.

“It’s been an extraordinary, unforgettable month,” Evenepoel told France Télévisions. “It’s not been easy. It’s been hard, and the start, especially, wasn’t easy, but I’m here now in second place with two stage wins, so I’m very happy with that.”

Evenepoel won seven races in the spring, including Amstel Gold Race, but he was subdued when the road climbed at the UAE Tour and the Volta a Catalunya, which raised questions about his July prospects.

“I know that some of the criticism regarding my climbing races this spring was justified, but the spring was all about Flanders and Liège,” Evenepoel said. “The rest was focused on the Tour and what is yet to come. I have now achieved one of my main goals.”

Asked if he would return to the Tour in 2026, Evenepoel said: “It’s too early to talk about next winter. I have other objectives in mind to try to achieve first. We’ll see next winter what the programme is.”

Evenepoel declined, however, to outline his plans for the remainder of the campaign, though it is expected that he will line up at the Clasica San Sebastian, while the Montreal World Championships also looks a likely target. “I can’t tell you yet,” said Evenepoel.

In the longer term, however, the Grand Tours will remain central to Evenepoel’s career after his showing across the last three weeks.

“What I take away most is that I was very good in terms of climbing performance during the second and third weeks. I didn't crack and didn't have a bad day. I also improved my best 15-minute record during the Tour,” Evenepoel said, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.

“I shouldn’t just give up on my dream of winning all three Grand Tours. That is my career goal. I have proven that I have the right to dream of that. I am going to keep working, and then we’ll see how many podiums come my way.”