No stage victory for Remco Evenepoel in Paris-Nice. The Belgian champion ended up in fourth place on Mont Brouilly after a tough finish. Although Evenepoel initially thought that he had made it to the podium of the fourth stage.
Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 5:14 PM
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Santiago Buitrago showed himself to be stronger in the final than Luke Plapp, who is the new leader. Behind that strong duo, Evenepoel unleashed his devils towards the finish. He sped away from his competitors, but was beaten on the line by Mattias Skjelmose. That meant no extra bonus seconds.
“I thought I was third,” Evenepoel admitted to Eurosport after the finish. “Until they showed me here that Plapp was still riding for our group. So I had the idea that I had still grabbed two bonus seconds (he had already taken six along the way, ed.), but that turned out not to be the case. Although that’s not a big thing, overall it was a good stage for us. Ilan (Van Wilder, ed.) was very strong, just like the others. They kept me out of trouble for a whole day. It was a good day.”
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The Belgian champion also asked questions about the tactics of UAE Team Emirates, led by leader Brandon McNulty and leader Joao Almeida.
“They made some strange decisions tactically,” he said. “They had four guys at the front of the leaderboard, so they could make one work, right? But Jay Vine suddenly stopped, while two strong riders rode ahead of us. This is how Buitrago was ultimately able to stay away. I tried it myself, it was the ideal moment with all those bends. And I was also able to make a hole. Only Mattias could join us and I didn’t see him on the line as I was looking at the wrong side. But I know him, he is a strong rider, especially on such arrivals. We seemed to be sprinting for the stage win (laughs).”
And the coming days? “We are going to think carefully about our tactics,” said Evenepoel. “In the hope that this will also help other teams along the way.”
