A Basque Country Grand Depart Eight mountain stages Four summit finishes Eight stages for the sprinters Puy de Dôme back after 35 years A 22km ITT featuring Domancy The Vosges on the penultimate day This is the #TDF2023!
"A good Remco can do well on every kind of course" - Lefevere maintains mystery surrounding Evenepoel's 2023 calendar
CyclingThursday, 27 October 2022 at 17:00
Remco Evenepoel has not featured in today's presentation of the Tour de France in Paris, but Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team were represented with none other than Patrick Lefevere who was in the crowd this morning in Paris, and has talked about the possibilities of the World Champion riding the race in 2023.
Talking to Cyclingnews in Paris after the presentation of the 2023 Tour de France, Lefevere has quickly shut down any idea of a preference for one of the Grand Tours: “I’ll disappoint people but that’ll stay a question until January 7, we will not decide today, absolutely not. We just saw the route and it's still warm. You should never take a decision when things are still warm."
Arguments can be said in favour of both the World Champion's presence or absence from the Grand Boucle, however the signs would point more towards a Giro d'Italia presence, taking into consideration the hints given throughout the year and the more favourable route - where time-trials will have a lot more importance. A decision however has not yet been made.
“Over the next few weeks we’ll take a close look at everything and make the final decision," Lefevere continued, talking to Het Laatste Nieuws. "Remco has proven that he can also go uphill. In the Giro, in addition to the three time trials, there are also mountain stages. I don't rule out anything for Evenepoel. A good Remco can do well on every kind of course.”
"It’s a Tour de France with different difficulties. I counted eight flat, well flattish stages, eight mountain stages and a tough start in the Basque Country," Lefevere continued. "Julian Alaphilippe and possibly a good Remco Evenepoel could do well there. I'm not ruling anything out,”
With the two opening stages featuring hilly profiles in the Basque Country, both Alaphilippe and Evenepoel would be prime contenders for the first (or second) yellow jersey. With several leaders and cards to play, Quick-Step's plan will slowly begin to be build in detail over the winter.
“We also have two top sprinters with Merlier and Jakobsen. If eight sprints are possible, then one of those two must also participate. We have to look at that," he concluded.
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