We are around 6 months before the start of the Tour de France 2024 (29.06 to 21.07), and Remco Evenepoel is about to make his long-awaited Tour de France debut. however, there are still many doubts about his ability to compete on equal terms with cyclists such as Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic.
The former winner of the Vuelta a España recently acknowledged the controversial stage of the Tour de France. The 9th stage, with several gravel sections in Troyes.
Remember the moment of Evenepoel’s “secret training”
“It’s not up to me to say whether it should be included or not, but am I a fan? It depends”, analyzed the Belgian on the podcast with his clothing sponsor, Castelli.
“I still have to look at the route, but there shouldn’t be a Strade Bianche-style stage in a Grand Tour. It’s something completely different. There are cyclists who specifically want to win this stage, but in Grand Tours some riders are even afraid of it.”
Vincenzo Nibali
The old saying goes that “at a stage like this you cannot win the race, but you can lose it”. However, Evenepoel recalls what happened in 2014, in a similar situation, which gave victory in the general classification to the Italian Vincenzo Nibali. Perhaps this memory can reveal a little about his goals for the stage.
“Vincenzo Nibali once won the Tour de France on the rocks,” he recalls. “But you can easily lose it in these types of stages.”
Important Gregaries
“If Kasper Asgreen and Yves Lampaert came with me to the Tour, I would have the perfect helpers around me,” concludes Evenepoel. “Kasper has already finished third at Strade Bianchi and Yves is simply a very strong guy on the flat.”
Watch the full interview