While Remco Evenepoel’s early retirement from the Giro 2023 allowed the craziest rumors to circulate, Patrick Lefevere was very clear. It is totally excluded to see the world champion at the start of the Tour de France on July 1.
Plans are not going to change. Last December, a few days after the announcement of his participation in the 2023 edition of the Giro by Remco Evenepoel, Patrick Lefevere had not denied the words of the reigning world champion. At the same time, the boss of the Soudal-Quick Step team had clearly hinted that his young prodigy would be in the running for participation in the 2024 edition of the Tour de France, which will start from Florence and then end in an unprecedented way in the streets of Nice.
However, the Aalst native’s early abandonment after testing positive for coronavirus has opened the door to rumours. The most insistent of them being a potential participation of Remco Evenepoel in the Tour de France this year. However, Patrick Lefevere has decided to put an end to recess.
World Champion and #giro maglia rosa @EvenepoelRemco is out of the race after testing positive to Covid-19. pic.twitter.com/FK0B1cnvTT
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) May 14, 2023
Lefevere closes the door to the Tour, not the Vuelta
During an interview granted to the French-speaking Belgian television channel RTBF, the boss of the Soudal-Quick Step team was very clear. ” No, he will not be in the Tour de Francehe said about Remco Evenepoel. We are not going to change his program, it would not be very smart. Indeed, while the 23-year-old runner has to recover from his coronavirus infection, the objective is not to jeopardize the rest of his season.
“The best for him is to recover, to relax. We will then do the post-covid health exams and redo a program, added Patrick Lefevere before specifying what the rest of the Remco Evenepoel season could be made of. There will be the Worlds in early August, but regarding a possible participation in the Vuelta, it’s too early to talk about it. “However, regarding the 2024 season, “ the plan will remain the discovery of the Tour de France in 2024 ”… but it is not completely certain. ” Or we come back to the Giro to win it “, he added with a bit of malice.
