‘I would not be bothered if he falls through the ice’ – Lefevere offers advice for Evenepoel ahead of clash with Pogačar and Vingegaard at Dauphiné

Remco Evenepoel’s former team boss, Patrick Lefevere, has offered up some words of wisdom to the Soudal-QuickStep rider ahead of his face-off with Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Lefevere believes Evenepoel should not be concerned if he is dropped in the high mountains during the eight-day race, which kicks off on Sunday, and is confident that the Olympic champion knows how to peak just right for the Tour de France – that being, the same way as in 2024.

Writing in his weekly Nieuwsblad column, Lefevere laid out his opinions on the three GC superstars racing each other for the first time since they filled the Tour podium last season, stressing that whatever the result, it must be “put into perspective.”

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“I, too am looking forward to the Critérium du Dauphiné with more than usual interest because in the past it has rarely happened that the three top favourites for the Tour are also at the start of the Dauphiné,” said Lefevere in Nieuwsblad on Saturday

“And the question that immediately arises: how should Remco Evenepoel approach this? My answer is simple: like last year. He won the individual time trial, became leader but then fell away in the high mountains. 

“Everyone was disappointed and wondered whether this would turn out well, Remco included, because he is a winner. And I was happy for the simple reason that, whoever is at the top at the end of next week has to try and hold out for another six weeks. Remco proved last year that he knows what he has to do to be ready for the Tour.”

Evenepoel returned from several injuries and a disrupted start to the season in April, after being doored in December. He has been rebuilding with full focus on the Tour de France ever since, and the Dauphiné is just the next step in that build-up towards his main goal.

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He finished third on debut last year behind Vingegaard and Pogačar, with the former racing for the first time since Paris-Nice at the Dauphiné, and the latter only competing in his second stage race of the 2025 season, after winning the UAE Tour in February.

Lefevere expects the three favourites for the Tour to be on different assignments across the eight days of racing.

“You may assume that Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar also know that they are not allowed to be at their best yet. But I do see differences,” said the Belgian. 

“Vingegaard has not raced much. He will want to test himself towards the Tour. Agreed, Remco can also test himself, but I would not be bothered if he falls through the ice. They always say that you have to get a knock from the hammer before you can be in good shape. 

“And Pogacar? Well, he always races to win, but compared to the others, he has raced more and longer. You would think that one day he would also save his energy. Unless, of course, he has an inexhaustible arsenal of power, which it sometimes seems like.”

After the Dauphiné reaches its conclusion next Sunday, all three of the big stars will head back to the high ground for a final altitude camp and those last-minute preparations before the Grand Départ on July 5 in Lille. 

It will be a good test of who is where one month before the Tour, but Lefevere knows, just as Pogačar, Evenepoel and Vingegaard will, that having work to do after the key former marker isn’t the worst problem to have, with the desired peak arriving in the Tour’s second and third weeks, that are filled with high mountains.

“Whatever the final result is in this Dauphiné, it will always have to be put into perspective. Unless you are being run off the wheels like a small child, then you have a problem that you can no longer solve,” added Lefevere. 

“For the mental side, it may even be better if you know at the end of the Dauphiné that there is still some fine-tuning to be done.”