Cited among the contenders for final victory in the Tour de France, Remco Evenepoel has no illusions about his chances of victory.
Remco Evenepoel is ready to discover a new world, that of the Tour de France. Confined for three years to the Giro and the Vuelta, which he won in his first participation in 2022, the Belgian prodigy will in fact compete, from Saturday, in the Tour. However, with very measured ambitions.
Hampered in his preparation by a serious fall on the Tour of the Basque Country, which left him with a fractured collarbone and shoulder blade, he wants to be cautious. The Critérium du Dauphiné held at the beginning of the month highlighted his difficulties in competing with the best climbers. And this despite the absences of Jonas Vingegaard and especially Tadej Pogacar, presented by the former world champion as a scarecrow.
“I expect Tadej to be almost inaccessible. What he showed at the Giro was impressive without even having to dig deep into his reserves. He will be the man to beat in the Tour de France”he said three days before leaving Florence, only hoping ” survive “ in a first week which will offer little respite to the runners.
“I’m going to take the race day by day”
“I hope to be ready from the start, not necessarily to win a stage, but to not lose time,” he continued, estimating that he was in better shape than in Dauphiné despite the cold snap he recently suffered: “a few percentages more”. “Steps 1 and 4 are very difficult. I hope to build on this first week to progress and reach my peak form during the second weekend as we approach the third week. That would be the ideal scenario,” he detailed.
“I’m going to approach the first week a little more cautiously. The Tour de France is three weeks, I have to save myself or it’s possible, that I stay a little calmer, that I also look around me to see how the race is developing, especially since it’s is my first Tour de France”,
he further explained, adding: “I will take the race day by day with as little stress as possible. »
