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Over to plan B: Evenepoel towards the Tour of Belgium, Switzerland and/or France? | Giro

These are the tough laws of top sport: one minute your dream is suddenly shattered after all those sacrifices, less than a day later you are already looking at what the future has in store. What could Remco Evenepoel’s next goals be? Of course, the Tour also dominates that debate.

Vuelta-Giro-Tour.

However much Remco Evenepoel was massaged towards the Tour de France last winter, Soudal – Quick Step stubbornly stuck to the schedule it had mapped out. Stick to the plan.

The choices of the course builders also seemed to confirm that order of the grand tours. The Giro charmed with 3 time trials (more than 70 kilometers), ASO limited the times to one difficult time trial.

For 2024, the Tour would more than likely be the main goal and ASO was already making love to the reigning world champion, but Soudal-Quick Step counted on Julian Alaphilippe and one of the sprinters, Fabio Jakobsen or Tim Merlier, for this Tour.

But unfortunately the corona virus is also involved. After months of preparation towards the pink goal, everything falls apart after 9 stages.

The physical damage is one important aspect, the mental sacrifice is not to be underestimated for a top athlete.

But as said: a winner like Evenepoel always looks ahead and soon the gun will be changed.

With the necessary baggage from the past: after every setback he wants to emerge even stronger than before and he has learned to put things into perspective.

Resilience has become one of his strongest weapons. Evenepoel has become particularly mature for a 23-year-old clapper.

After 9 days, Remco Evenepoel has to isolate himself from his team.

Resignation after “barely” 9 journeys: an advantage later?

His team, doctors and experts cannot emphasize it enough: it is especially important that Remco Evenepoel gets sick and takes enough time for this.

It is currently not clear how heavily the corona animal has bitten itself into the body of the world champion.

One driver suffers and is confronted with a long recovery period, another rider feels like his old self relatively quickly.

That healing process will determine how quickly Evenepoel can rebuild and poke another target.

Important side note: Evenepoel left the Giro quite quickly (out of necessity).

It would have been a different story if he had been felled in about the third week. Then the physical wear and tear would be a lot bigger, just like the mental opt-out so close to Rome (and the pink?).

Moreover, it is not about physical injuries such as fractures and other injuries after a fall.

In that respect, someone like Tadej Pogacar is in a different boat. It will also be a race against the clock for the Slovenian. Perhaps his obstacle course is even more complex than Evenepoel’s.

Will the two still meet in the Tour?

Glasgow and Lombardy

Who says Pogacar, of course says the Tour (Saturday July 1 to Sunday July 23).

But before we name the elephant in the room, it is good to look at what Evenepoel’s original planning would have been after the Giro.

The full lines had not yet been drawn, but of course Glasgow worked like a red rag to a bull.

The World Championship road race on Sunday August 6 and the time trial on Friday August 11 were the summer goals.

That time trial in particular was particularly hard on Evenepoel, who, despite his young age, is already working on a bingo card.

The Vuelta (August 26 to September 17) was not an option as the defending champion, the Tour of Lombardy (October 7) was a crucial autumn appointment.

In Australia, Remco Evenepoel finished 3rd at the World Time Trial Championships.

(Baloise Belgium) Tour?

Those rates are of course still (fairly) distant future music. The majority of riders heading to the Tour de France are currently preparing for altitude.

For example, a group around Julian Alaphilippe (with Andrea Bagioli, Mauri Vansevenant, Rémi Cavagna, Dries Devenyns and Florian Sénéchal) camps on the Sierra Nevada.

Sprinter Fabio Jakobsen raced in Hungary last week with Yves Lampaert, among others. Tim Merlier and Kasper Asgreen will ride the Four Days of Dunkirk this week.

They will want to secure their Tour ticket during the Dauphiné (Sunday 4 to Sunday 11 June) or the Tour de Suisse (Sunday 11 June to Sunday 18 June).

Those traditional preparation races seem to be out of the question for Evenepoel (especially the Dauphiné), a possible (altitude) internship can be fitted into that period.

To pick up the thread again in the Baloise Belgium Tour (14 to 18 June)? With a passage by Schepdaal, the organization hoped to seduce the world champion to make an appearance anyway.

The BC – against the clock and on the road – can guide Evenepoel towards the Grand Départ in Bilbao, but who will have to give up his place in the Tour core and to what extent is Evenepoel surrounded?

Expectations will be high anyway, but Evenepoel can mainly start the Tour as a journey of discovery. A trip with which he can only please the sponsors.

the offer in the coming weeks and months
4-11/06Dauphine
4/06Brussels Cycling Classic
11-18/06Tour of Switzerland
11/06Eleven Cities Round Bruges
14-18/06Baloise Belgium Tour
22/06BK time trial
25/06BK-wegrit
1/23/07Round of France
22-26/07Tour of Wallonia
29/07Classic San Sebastian
6/08WK-wegrit
11/08World Cup time trial
26/08-17/09Vuelta
7/10Tour of Lombardy

“There should be no panic football”

“The Tour of Belgium can certainly be interesting from a public point of view”, Renaat Schotte said yesterday from Italy, “but for the time being it is guesswork. At Soudal-Quick Step they will sort everything out calmly.”

Our reporter in the Giro also realizes that it makes sense that the Tour is now mentioned everywhere in the same breath.

“In theory, this assignment more than opens the door. He gives up early enough to refocus.”

“But at The Wolfpack they like to stick to the original season schedule and it didn’t have a Tour in store.”

In theory, this assignment leaves the door more than ajar. He gives up early enough to refocus. But at The Wolfpack, they like to stick to the seasonal schedule.

Renate Schotte

Spokesman Phil Lowe did not want to deal with the hot topic at the team hotel on Monday morning. “We’ll let everything sink in for a while.”

“There are two options: the Tour followed by the World Cup or first San Sebastian, then the World Cup and then the Vuelta”, Karl Vannieuwkerke outlined in his analysis with José De Cauwer.

“There should be no panic football. One should go for the construction of one’s career”, our co-commentator replied. “You shouldn’t go to the Tour for yellow, but to see if it fits in with his training.”

“It may be the only chance in his career to go to the Tour without much pressure,” Vannieuwkerke argued.

De Cauwer thinks that Evenepoel can be fitted into the current pre-selection, but the yellow in Paris should not be the starting point.

“You shouldn’t turn everything around and say you’re coming to win against teams that are already building up while Evenepoel is ill. Although I would eagerly take advantage of it to go to the Tour with this attitude.”

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