"Gift with the golden ribbon" - Former pro argues Tour de France should be Remco Evenepoel's ultimate goal next year
Cycling
Jan Bakelants believes Remco Evenepoel would be making a serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France.
The Belgian finished runner-up to Tadej Pogacar at this year's Tour, and with 71 kilometres of individual time trialling included in the newly unveiled 2027 route, Bakelants believes he has an opportunity that should not be compromised.
"Remco has been handed a fantastic opportunity by the 2027 Tour route," the former professional told HLN. "It would be very strange not to unwrap this gift with the golden ribbon and try to get absolutely everything out of it."
Evenepoel's first season with Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe brought his best Tour result to date, including stage victories on the summit finish at Plateau de Solaison and in the individual time trial to Thonon-les-Bains. Although Pogacar ultimately finished more than six minutes clear, the Belgian's progress in the mountains offered encouragement alongside his established strength against the clock.
Evenepoel has DNF'd both of his previous two Giro d'Italias
Why the 2027 Tour de France route offers Remco Evenepoel a golden opportunity
"Riding the Giro, even in combination with the Tour, could in this case be seen as a disguised fear of failure," Bakelants argued. "It would mean deviating from Plan A, almost as if he didn't have the confidence beforehand that he could succeed in July. I would therefore be extremely surprised if he put the Giro on his calendar."
Evenepoel has unfinished business in Italy, having abandoned both his previous Giro appearances. In 2023, he withdrew with Covid-19 while wearing the Maglia Rosa, shortly after winning the stage nine individual time trial.
Giro-Tour double threatens Evenepoel's 2027 Tour de France preparations
The 2027 Giro features 56.9 kilometres against the clock, but its mountainous final week includes two ascents of the Mortirolo, the Passo di Gavia and a penultimate-stage summit finish on Monte Zoncolan. The race ends on 30 May, just 33 days before the Tour begins in Edinburgh.
With several established Grand Tour contenders elsewhere in Red Bull's squad, Evenepoel would not necessarily need to race in Italy for the team to challenge for the Maglia Rosa.
Bakelants was particularly dismissive of the prospect of a difficult Tour being blamed on fatigue from the Giro. "Turning up there with the excuse of 'I'm tired because I've already got the Giro in my legs' would go down very badly with the media," he said. "We'd call it poor planning."
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The importance of that preparation was evident in 2026. Under coach Tim Heemskerk, Evenepoel went 68 days without racing after Liege-Bastogne-Liege, concentrating entirely on the Tour before recording his best-ever finish in France.
Whether Red Bull follows the same approach in 2027 remains to be seen. A Giro appearance, however, would mean sacrificing much of the preparation that helped Evenepoel finish second in France, just as the Tour is offering him his most favourable route yet.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- I see I missed a lot during my boycott.Jumpyjohn05-11-2026
- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
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