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Alasdair Fotheringham

'Proof that the disbelief in me is unfounded' – Remco Evenepoel hits back at critics as Tour de France second place overall is all but secured

ALPE D'HUEZ, FRANCE - JULY 25: Remco Evenepoel of Belgium and Team Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe crosses the finish line during the 113th Tour de France 2026, Stage 20 a 170.9km stage from Le Bourg d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez 1842m / #UCIWT / on July 25, 2026 in Alpe d'Huez, France. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images).

Remco Evenepoel couldn't quite win the final high mountain stage of the 2026 Tour de France, but the Belgian star's confirmation of his second place overall more than made up for any sense of disappointment at the finish line of Alpe d'Huez on Saturday.

Two years after his third place overall in the 2024 race, the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe racer has moved up a spot in 2026, and barring absolute disaster on the last 89-kilometre run on Sunday through Paris, he is set to clinch Belgium's best overall finish in the Tour since 1976 winner Lucien Van Impe finished second in 1981.

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