BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON, France, July 19 (Reuters) - Belgian Remco Evenepoel abandoned the Tour de France on Saturday during the 14th stage, a 182.6-km mountain trek from Pau to Superbagneres.

The Frenchman is the 14th rider to abandon this year's race, meaning 170 lined up at today's start in Pau. A classic and mouth-watering mountain stage in the Pyrenees awaits at the end of week two. Nearly 5,000m of elevation gain is packed into climbs up the mighty hors-categorie Tourmalet followed by the Col d'Aspin and Col de Peyresourde.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) opened up on his departure from the Tour de France, which shocked the Tour de France on the slopes of the Col du Tourmalet on Saturday. “It just wasn’t working, I was empty," Evenepoel told Dutch and Flemish journalists, including Nieuwsblad.