Evenepoel Strengthens Second Place Despite Being Trapped In Alpe d’Huez Chaos

Remco Evenepoel emerged from a chaotic afternoon on Alpe d’Huez with his second place in the Tour de France looking stronger. The Belgian finished sixth on stage 19, 2:29 behind Tadej Pogačar, and now holds a 2:31 advantage over third-placed Isaac del Toro.

His climb, however, was disrupted by the enormous crowd and the number of race vehicles on the road. Evenepoel explained that fans and motorcycles blocked his path when congestion formed on the ascent. He was forced to slow sharply and find a way through before resuming his effort.

There was no official time adjustment, and it is impossible to calculate exactly how much the interruption cost him. Evenepoel nevertheless gained 12 seconds on Del Toro and 16 on Paul Seixas, turning a difficult situation into a useful defensive result.

The episode did not occur in isolation. The massive attendance on Alpe d’Huez narrowed the road to a thin corridor, while stopped or slow-moving vehicles created further bottlenecks. Einer Rubio’s collision with a UAE car on the same climb made the safety concerns even more serious.

Evenepoel starts the final mountain stage 7:11 behind Pogačar. Winning the Tour is now a remote prospect, but protecting second place remains a major objective. After surviving the disorder of Alpe d’Huez, he still faces 5,450 metres of climbing before he can consider that position secure.