Belgian road cycling world champion Remco Evenepoel will not be competing in the Tour de France. The young star confirmed this on the sidelines of the Tour de Suisse.
"There were talks, but it very quickly became a no," said Evenepoel, who had gone into the Giro d'Italia as the top favourite, but had to abandon after two stage wins and wearing the pink jersey due to a coronavirus infection. There was then speculation that the 23-year-old would start the Tour of France, which begins in Bilbao on 1 July.
"A logical decision"
"I prepared for the Giro for six months and was in top form. Then I was off the bike for ten days and it's not easy to get in shape for a race like the Tour," said Evenepoel, who added: "When I start at the Tour, it's all in. I want to be 150 per cent in shape. That wasn't possible, so it's a logical decision."
Evenepoel, who is compared to the legendary Eddy Merckx in his home country, has not yet competed in the Tour. After winning the Vuelta in 2022, he wanted to win the Giro this year and then tackle the Tour in 2024. "I'll definitely be there in the future. You have to be patient," said Evenepoel, who won the spring classic Liège-Bastogne-Liège this year as he did last year. A duel between last year's Danish winner Jonas Vingegaard and two-time champion Tadej Pogacar from Slovenia is expected again this year at the Tour.
Copyright 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
