Despite some problems with his time trial position, Remco Evenepoel (Sodual-QuickStep) will be ready for the Tour de France according to team boss Patrick Lefevere.
Evenepoel broke his collarbone and shoulder blade in the horror Itzulia Basque Country crash in April.
It’s been a quick road back for Evenepoel after having surgery and returning to riding on the road last month, with a debut at the Critérium du Dauphiné looking likely to be his final pre-Tour de France race appearance.
The Belgian is currently at altitude in Sierra Nevada alongside some of the group that will join him for his debut at the Tour, with Lefevere confirming that Evenepoel’s recovery has gone well and that the Grand Depart in Florence should see him at full fitness.
“Not that we ever really doubted it, but Remco Evenepoel will be ready for the Tour,” said Lefevere in his Het Nieuwsblad column.
“During his fall in the Tour of the Basque Country, he broke his collarbone and his shoulder blade. The latter currently causes stiffness in the time trial position, but that is a matter of days.
“There will be an individual time trial of 34 kilometers in the Dauphiné on June 5. There is no reason to think that Remco could not reach his best level there.”
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Evenepoel has 22 days to reach his peak and work on re-finding his best time trial position before the Dauphiné starts in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, with exactly seven weeks between today and the start of the Tour de France.
While key rival Tadej Pogačar dominates the Giro d’Italia, two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard has similarly been on the road back to full fitness after breaking his collarbone, ribs and suffering a collapsed lung in the same crash as Evenepoel.
However, Vingegaard also returned to riding outdoors on May 7 so is looking more likely to be in fighting shape for the Tour as the weeks go on. With Vingegaard, Evenepoel and also Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) all nearing full recovery, the four-way Tour de France contender battle appears to be back on the cards.
The group with Evenepoel in southern Spain includes new signing for 2024, Mikel Landa, who is set to be the key super domestique for the Belgian in the mountains. He’s likely to be a shoe-in but Lefevere was keen to state how only one man’s place was confirmed.
“Apart from leader Evenepoel, no one is certain of a selection at the moment. The procedure has been the same for a few years: a long list of twelve riders who all have to assume that they will be there,” said the experienced team boss.
But did concede how “It is no secret that the riders who are currently with Remco have a good chance of going to the Tour later.”
Those with the Belgian at altitude are Landa, Ilan Van Wilder, Gianni Moscon, Casper Pedersen and Yves Lampaert.
Louis Vervaeke would have been in Spain with the team according to Lefevere but he was at home in Belgium for the birth of his second child.
Alongside Vervaeke, one rider who has been strong alongside Evenepoel at his few Grand Tour appearances is Mattia Cattaneo, but he won’t be taking the start in Florence due to struggles with illness.
“Mattia Cattaneo would also be a permanent fixture in the Tour team, but he has been in trouble for a few months,” Lefevere said. “First a COVID-19 infection, now problems with the thyroid gland. Too bad, but unfortunately: he will not be there in the Tour either.”