It marked the end of a difficult few days for Evenepoel who lost time in the race’s first mountain stage at Hautacam on stage 12, and was then overtaken by Jonas Vingegaard during the stage 13 time trial. At the start of the day he was 7:24 behind yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar.

After finishing second on stage 14 behind breakaway Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) Pogačar paid tribute to the Belgian star, the only rider to beat him in the stage 5 time trial at Caen, but who has been suffering badly in the mountains.

Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel, who was in third place, abandoned the Tour de France during the challenging 14th stage, midway through the Col du Tourmalet ascent. The decision came as a surprise, cutting short his participation in the 182.

The Tour de France continues with the toughest stage of this year’s race, featuring four mammoth Pyrenean climbs