"If he gets punches, he's going to have to take them and keep going" - Patrick Lefevere won't allow Remco Evenepoel to completely drop from GC at Tour de France

The moment has finally arrived for Remco Evenepoel. After much hype and speculation, on Saturday, the Soudal - Quick-Step leader will make his Tour de France debut. One man watching keener than most, will be team boss Patrick Lefevere.

"The team is ready. We have done everything we can, at all levels. I no longer agree with that nonsense from the past, that the team still has a lot to learn," says the outspoken Belgian team boss, in conversation with HLN on the eve of the 2024 Tour de France. "He now has the Dauphiné in his legs after his injuries. I maintain that that was a good choice. I knew he was going to be beaten, but he has grown: Remco was a lot better in the final stage than in the first mountain stage."

In his most recent Grand Tour, the 2023 Vuelta a Espana, Evenepoel started strongly before fading badly on stage 13 and being dropped. Rather than fight to keep himself in contention, the Soudal - Quick-Step leader completely sat up and lost as much time as possible to drop completely out of the GC fight. This tactic proved fruitful as in the coming days Evenepoel took two stage wins and the King of the Mountains jersey. If he starts struggling at the 2024 Tour de France however, Lefevere will not although a similar sit up.

"No, now he has to keep riding," Lefevere demands of his team leader. "If he gets punches, he's going to have to take them and keep going. We have to go all the way through that Tour to see where he can end up in three weeks. You can then draw conclusions from this for the future. Next year, in 2025, you can say: now there are no more excuses. Then it is D-day. If you then come to the conclusion that sixth place in the rankings is the maximum, then you should resolutely go for stages and the classics. That's my advice. But at the end of the day, he rides, not me.”