For Remco Evenpole, the bar has always been set a little higher.

Early success brought him accolades, but also high expectations. He could win as much as he wanted, but it seemed not enough to prove himself.

Even when Evenpoel won the Vuelta a España two years ago, the view persisted in some quarters that he was not a good Grand Tour rider: he missed the Giro d'Italia with COVID-19 and spoiled his Vuelta defense with “Jules Saint” 2023 After the 2023 season, the question remained. It continued until his Tour de France debut this summer.

Evenpoel's arrival in Nice in third place overall certainly allayed those who doubted his ability.

Tadej Pogachar and Jonas Vingegaard were, by Evenpoel's own admission, on a different level here, but the Belgian was well worth a podium finish, surviving three weeks without apparent danger and coming home nearly 10 minutes ahead of fourth place.

This would have been a historic Tour debut had it not been for the men he calls his “two big boys.”

“Honestly, this podium is one of the best of my career,” Evenpoel said at his final Tour de France press conference on Sunday night at the Palais des Expositions in Nice.

“I think being world champion is still on another level, but to finish my first Tour de France and be third behind the two best riders in the world is a great achievement.”

Evenpoel broke down in tears as he crossed the finish line after the last time trial on Sunday after sunset. He explained that this overflowing emotion came partly from recalling his crash in Iturria-Basque in April, but also from a sense of relief, as if he had unburdened himself from the success of his debut Tour.

“People always doubt me, but I think that's over today,” Evenpoel said proudly.

“Finishing third behind the two best riders is a step forward.

“We were in a hurry to get in shape and after the Dauphiné, the question of whether we knew what we were doing came up again. It was our first Tour and there was a lot of pressure from our home country.

“There were already negative comments coming out of Paris-Nice about how much pressure was on our shoulders, and second place wasn't enough. So I think that's where the emotions and tears came from.”

Evenpole's success in his debut Tour confirmed his suitability for the three-week race, but it was also a clear indication that he would need to grind it out to win the yellow jersey in the future.

Of course, time is on his side. Evenpoel won the white jersey for best young player here, and he will be eligible to do so again next year.

“To finish third in my first Tour de France is already pretty good. It shows that the base is there to be a Tour de France winner.

“So what do I need to do?”

“First of all, I need to train specifically for the climbs and improve my abilities. Maybe I need to put the TT work aside for a bit and focus on longer climbs, greater effort, and more altitude-specific training.

“I think all of this is knowledge that I can use a little bit with my team: the UAE, Visma, Ineos, these teams have experience in Grand Tours. I think I need to be stronger.”

From an athletic standpoint, Evenpoel indicated that a podium finish in the Tour is a higher accomplishment than a victory in the Vuelta. For example, on stage 15, Evenpoel climbed faster than Marco Pantani did on the Plateau de Beille in 1998, but still reached the summit nearly three minutes behind Pogachar.

“My numbers are much higher now than they were at the Vuelta, where I won.

“Maybe this podium will weigh heavily on my future plans of becoming a pure GC rider. It means more to me than winning the Vuelta.”

Even if Sourdal-Quick-Step manager Patrick Lefevre smilingly pointed out in Nice that Evenpoel's podium finish came “a year ahead of schedule,” that thought would have to wait.

For the next two weeks, Evenpoel has a more pressing goal: winning the Paris Olympics gold medal. He is the favorite to win Saturday's time trial, and Eddy Merckx himself rates him as the man to beat on the road as well.

With these picks in mind, Evenpoel took a relatively modest downhill approach in the final time trial to Nice on Sunday, finishing third behind Pogachar and Vingegaard.

“Third place overall was pretty safe, and I knew that second place was out of reach.

“There is still a big race left to go.

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