Also, this quote is classic Remco, and why I think he just can’t conceive of being worse in these type of races; it must be because of some external factor. He’s had at least two known phantom mechanicals in major races in the last 13 months (OGRR and the second WCRR bike issue this year). But this is his takeaway:
"In the end, it's just something that happens in the race, because I think Tadej is one minute twenty ahead of me and I'm also a minute ahead of the guys behind me, so it shows that my shape was very good this week, that the legs were there, but just some bad luck did not allow me to take my double today."
And I think he truly believes that, and truly believes the mechanicals are all real. But what I think he struggles with is loss of control, and this is a bigger issue than that first mechanical. Vingegaard used to really struggle with that. Remember that bike swapping fiasco in 2022? But he seems to have pushed through it and is better able to roll with the punches now. Remco did recover this time, at least, rather than throw in the towel like in LBL this year, but he didn’t help himself.