Remco Evenepoel stormed to victory in the individual time trial on stage four of the Critérium du Dauphiné, his first win since he was involved in the horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April.
The Soudal Quick-Step rider, the time trial world champion, went 17 seconds quicker than the European champion, Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers), and as a result also claimed the race lead on Wednesday. Evenepoel averaged 49.353km/h over the 34.4km course; he and Tarling were the only riders to average over 49km/h.
Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe), another rider caught up in the Itzulia crash, and also racing this week for the first time since then, finished third, a further 22 seconds behind Tarling.
Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech), the race leader ahead of stage four, finished 1:25 behind Evenepoel, losing the yellow jersey in the process.
"I’m very proud and happy, and my team around me, my family, the staff members, can be really proud of all the support they gave me," Evenepoel said post-race. "It has been quite a long way, three weeks with almost no bike, and only four weeks of training.
"Being at this level already is a good sign towards the Tour, and in my preparation. I can only be happy and proud of what I did today, and now we focus day by day."
The 24-year-old also paid credit to the equipment that had brought him to this point; he rode stage four on a Specialized Shiv TT bike and in a helmet in a new design.
"It was a very nice present from Specialized, a new bike, a new helmet, which gave me an extra push," he explained. "We try to optimise all the materiel that I’m using to try and win the TTs on this very high level. It’s not only the legs, but also the detail of the equipment."
Tarling, for his part, claimed to not feel fast, despite being one of two riders to go over 49km/h on average.
"It felt slow," he said. "It’s the tarmac that’s quite grippy, so it felt hard to get the speed up, especially over the top of the climbs. I think I did a decent enough ride, so fingers crossed."
However, it was Evenepoel who triumphed in Neulise on stage four. The Belgian will now head into the high mountains in the final four stages with 33 seconds of advantage over Roglič.
How it happened
The fourth rider off the start ramp on Wednesday for the 34.4km individual time trial, Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers), was the first man to finish the course, and spent the next couple of hours in the hot seat.
The Welshman set a blistering time at each checkpoint, and finished in 42:06, which was minutes faster than anyone else for the first part of the day.
Time trial specialists like Matteo Sobrero (Bora-Hansgrohe) attempted to lay a glove on the Ineos rider, but could not match his speed.
It was not until Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), almost two hours after Tarling, took to the course, that Tarling’s time looked under threat. The Belgian world champion went through the first checkpoint two seconds quicker than his rival, then under a second slower at the second checkpoint. However, it was the finish that counted, and here Evenepoel was 17 seconds up on Tarling, claiming the hot seat and the victory.
Following the young Belgian, Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) looked closer to his top form, improving with each time check to finish 39 seconds behind Evenepoel. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), too, looked good, finishing 1:07 behind Evenepoel, proving that he deserves the leadership at that squad this week.
Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), walked away with one of the results of his season, finishing 10th, 1:38 behind Evenepoel, proving that he is well on his way back to his top condition as well.
The last man on the road, Derek Gee (Israel Premier-Tech), the race leader, put in a valiant effort to hold onto the yellow jersey, finishing in sixth, 1:24 down on the winner, Evenepoel.
Results
Critérium du Dauphiné stage four: Saint-Germain-Laval > Neulise ITT (34.4km)
1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, in 41:49
2. Josh Tarling (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +17s
3. Primož Roglič (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe, +39s
4. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:07
5. Oier Lazkano (Esp) Movistar, +1:21
6. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, +1:24
7. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, +1:24
8. Bruno Armirail (Fra) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, +1:26
9. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, +1:27
10. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Lidl-Trek, +1:38
General classification after stage four
1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, in 12:27:22
2. Primož Roglič (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe, +33s
3. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:04
4. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech), +1:11
5. Oier Lazkano (Esp) Movistar, +1:21
6. Bruno Armirail (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +1:25
7. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, at same time
8. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, +1:27
9. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Lidl-Trek, +1:39
10. Carlos Rodríguez (Esp) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:41
