The double Olympic champion climbed into the car on Stage 14 amid a brutal day in the Pyrenean mountains.
That came after he had admitted to being “really bad” in the Stage 13 time trial to Peyragudes, where he lost considerable time to his general classification rivals Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Evenepoel was, nonetheless, still high up in the overall standings and wearing the white jersey for the best young rider when he retired, but former Ineos Grenadiers rider Luke Rowe says he felt Evenepoel’s status as a “superstar” meant abandoning was the right decision – despite the criticism that has subsequently come the 25-year-old’s way back in Belgium.
“In terms of Remco going home, it’s an honour to be a part of this race, to ride this race, so you do everything you can to finish,” Rowe said on TNT Sports’ Stage 17 commentary.
“But I do think it changes when you’re one of the big leaders, and when you’re one of the few leaders within a team, like Remco is.
“If he’s not performing in this race, and he finishes the race, cracks on, just to get to Paris to get a postcard, it doesn’t really bring a lot for the sponsors, for the team.
Evenepoel dropped early, then gets ‘angry’ with camera bike following him
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“Whereas if he says, ‘You know what, I’m going to call it quits, I’m going to go home, I’m going to prepare for my next goals’ – whether they’re the Tour of Poland, La Vuelta or the World Championships or whatever it may be – that’s what the team needs to do.
“So it’s circumstantial. As a domestique, you go and you finish, and the only reason you stop is if you physically cannot ride a bike because of a crash, or if you miss the time cut.
“But if you’re a superstar and you’re in a team and you’re there to go and get results, there’s not a lot of point in him mumbling around Paris just for the sake of it.”
Carlton Kirby, also on TNT Sports commentary, added: “He got such a lot of stick in the Belgian press, it was almost relentless, bordering on cruel, because the expectations are so high.”
Rowe conceded as much, adding: “He’s an absolute superstar over there in Belgium – and in the world of cycling in general – but that’s tenfold when you visit his home country of Belgium.
“Unfortunately, when you are under the microscope and when you are the people’s champion, you’re going to have all the love when you succeed, and sadly a little bit of hate and disrespect when you don’t succeed.
‘There’s so many things we don’t know’ – Breakaway debate Evenepoel withdrawal
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“That’s part of being one of the best professional sportsmen in the world and one of the best in the world of cycling.
“I think for sure he did the right thing [abandoning]. It actually wouldn’t make very nice visuals just to see Remco rolling round, getting dropped, in the Gruppetto – it brings nothing to nobody.
“As spectators and fans, what we want to see is a Remco at his top level, going to races and ripping it up.
“We’re not going to see that on the last week of the Tour, but hopefully we still can see that in the coming races towards the back end of this season.”
As Rowe suggested, La Vuelta a Espana could be one race where Evenepoel can get some redemption.
The third Grand Tour of the year begins on August 23 in Torino, Italy, running until its conclusion in Madrid on September 14.
It would give Evenepoel just over a month of rest and recovery should he decide to compete.
Evenepoel won his first Grand Tour at La Vuelta in 2022, riding it again in 2023 when he finished 12th, but has not featured in the race since.
The 25-year-old is a double world champion in the time trial discipline, and is also the reigning double Olympic champion after memorably winning both the road race and the time trial at Paris 2024.
This year’s World Championships take place in Kigali, Rwanda, running from 21-28 September.
Merlier ‘really surprised’ by Evenepoel withdrawal but admits ‘we are on the limit’
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Soudal ‘freed up’
“It’s certainly freed up a lot of his team-mates, slash domestiques,” Rowe said.
“Would Paret-Peintre have gone in the breakaway and won the stage if Remco was still in the race?
“I would say no. I would say they would have said to him, ‘You’re the last man, you stay with Remco, you’re his wingman on Mont Ventoux, nothing to do with the breakaway.
“So certainly it’s opened up in that sense.”
‘Finally it’s the French!’ – Paret-Peintre wins atop Mont Ventoux as Pogacar fends off Vingegaard
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Merlier, also with two wins under his belt, will likely have one further chance at glory in Paris on Sunday – unless this year’s unusual finish dictates otherwise.Stream the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes live on TNT Sports and discovery+