Tom Dumoulin surprised by talk around Evenepoel: "What are we even discussing?!"

After Remco Evenepoel was dropped on Jebel Hafeet in the UAE Tour, the question immediately arose whether he is ready for the Tour de France. Nonsense, according to Tom Dumoulin and Michael Boogerd; they discussed this in the new cycling podcast from NOS.

Where riders in the past could warm up during the early season races, the preparation nowadays has shifted to training sessions. "What really stands out to me is that the top riders have to win right away. And if they don't win, it's considered a disappointment," says Boogerd. "In my opinion, that makes no sense."

"Leave that boy alone a bit"
"There’s already so much pressure at the start of the season. That’s a bit inhumane; these guys hardly get time to prepare properly and ease into it. It’s remarkable that Evenepoel already has such an impressive palmarès, so why does he have to win the Tour? Only very few riders are destined to win a grand tour. Leave that boy alone a bit."

Dumoulin also found the reaction to Evenepoel’s dropping striking. "The headlines were full of it, while he had simply won the first six races. Then there’s a small headline, and now it was almost world news. They’re even questioning whether the Tour is still feasible," Dumoulin says laughing. "What are we even talking about?!"

"Still needs to improve on the climbs"
There has been much discussion surrounding Evenepoel’s transfer to Red Bull. "I think he’s better off there as a GC contender; he has better support and teammates around him. Ultimately, he has to measure himself in a man-to-man duel against Pogacar and Vingegaard."

"Then you can ask whether he’s strong enough on the climbs; he has dropped the ball quite a few times there," Dumoulin concludes. "This UAE Tour means nothing to me, but what he’s shown over the past several years certainly says something. He definitely needs to make a step forward in climbing."