The mud has barely settled on Tadej Pogačar’s Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double this season however it’s now emerged one other main GC contender may effectively be within the working to a minimum of participate in each races in 2025: Remco Evenepoel.
According to Patrick Lefevere, Soudal-QuickStep’s longstanding and outspoken staff supervisor, there’s a “real looking choice” that Evenepoel will return to the Italian Grand Tour, previous to doubling that up with the Tour de France in July.
Evenepoel final raced the Giro d’Italia in 2023, however needed to abandon the race for a second time in three years after he and a number of teammates went down with COVID-19. His debut participation within the Tour de France this summer season was a serious triumph, seeing him clinch each third total and a stage win, in addition to the Best Young Rider’s jersey.
In a prolonged interview with Dernière Heure, Lefevere additionally mentioned the interminable rumours surrounding Evenepoel switching groups in 2025, saying “Four years in the past it was Ineos, now it is Red Bull. Tomorrow it’s going to be what, UAE? Honestly, I’m a bit fed up with the entire story.”
Lefevere was notably extra enthusiastic in regards to the potential prospect of Evenepoel racing the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France back-to-back, telling the Belgian newspaper, “We had already aired the chance this 12 months and Remco was very taken with the concept, however his coach modified his plans. That mentioned, it is a real looking choice for 2025.”
“We noticed it was potential to do each, as a result of Pogačar managed it. The Slovenian’s instance may act as a supply of inspiration for Remco.”
The concept of a Giro-Tour double for Evenepoel in 2024 already surfaced briefly final October after the Tour presentation, however with the Olympic Games one other goal this summer season, it was lastly turned down.
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Lefevere admitted that such a radical change of plan would indicate a really completely different build-up to earlier seasons, solely remotely corresponding to 2023, when Evenepoel raced the Giro after which returned to the Vuelta a España to mix two three-week stage races for the primary and to this point solely time in his profession.
While Pogačar raced a complete of 12 days earlier than the Giro d’Italia, Evenepoel must hit high kind in mid-April, Lefevere mentioned and would probably race Milan-San Remo earlier than going onto Italy’s Grand Tour.
Plenty of Belgian followers can be delighted to see the World and Olympic Time Trial Champion comply with Pogačar’s tracks in one other approach and race the Tour of Flanders. But Lefevere not directly rejected the concept for now, or on the very least, combining San Remo and the Ronde.
“He’s not overly in settlement with that individual concept,” he advised Dernière Heure. This 12 months, we already hesitated to place him in Sanremo, as a result of it is a 300-kilometre race and that takes loads out of you.”
“But biking has modified, riders now not have to do La Primavera as a warm-up race. They practice otherwise. For positive at some point he’ll do Flanders and Milan-San Remo, however possibly when he is achieved his largest goal of all: profitable all three Grand Tours.”
“Afterwards, we would see. Above all, we have now to make sure that he continues to get pleasure from himself.”
Perhaps partly because of Evenepoel’s seemingly unstoppable run of success, most lately within the World Time Trial Championships, the switch rumours proceed to swirl unabated. But Lefevere continued to roundly reject the concept.
“It’s not one thing we intend to occur, no approach! And it has been some time since there’s been any registered submit on my desk saying that one other staff desires to speak. So that is not even a topic for dialogue.”
“On a sporting stage, what can he acquire elsewhere? We’ve possibly acquired much less cash than elsewhere, however he is going effectively right here and our relationship is constructed on belief.”
“Look on the palmares. In 2026 he’ll be 26, That’d possibly be the nice second to go in search of cash. But possibly by that point, we’ll have extra monetary backing too.”
A definitive resolution on Evenepoel’s 2025 season won’t be lengthy in coming, in line with Lefevere. The fundamental targets might be determined in October in staff conferences, with the fine-tuning coming a bit of later within the 12 months.
The 2025 Tour de France route presentation is presently set for October 29, with the equal unveiling of what is in retailer subsequent May within the Giro d’Italia due on an as-yet-unconfirmed date in mid-November.
Come what might, Evenepoel is totally focussed on one other ‘double’ – combining his lately received Worlds time trial gold with regaining the World Championship highway race title on Sunday with some ultra-tough coaching rides.
This week the concept of doing a ‘homage’ experience within the environs of the Swiss city of Sankt Moritz, the place compatriot Johan Museeuw skilled only a few days earlier than profitable the Worlds in Lugano in 1996, has been quietly dropped when it turned out Sankt Moritz was too removed from his present base in Switzerland. But Evenepoel continues to be anticipated to place in a seven-hour coaching experience on Wednesday because the countdown to the ultra-long (273km) Worlds in Zurich looms.
Like Evenepoel, Museeuw was additionally a rider with Lefevere again within the Nineteen Nineties, however Lefevere is adamant that the youthful professional is already in a category of his personal.
“If you have a look at Remco’s palmares and the medals he is received, just one conclusion is feasible. He’s the perfect rider who ever raced for me,” Lefevere concluded.
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