"It’s gravel but it’s nothing special" - Remco Evenepoel shrugs off pressure from Tour de France's gravel stage

The gravel stage of the 2024 Tour de France is rated as one of the biggest challenges for Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic. The Belgian however, after having explored the roads that will be raced, shrugs off the importance of that day in the big picture.

“The stages that I saw were the gravel and the time trial stage. The gravel stage is for the outside world is going to look more crazy than it actually is. The stage itself is not that technical and the stage isn’t dangerous," Evenepoel shared with GCN. Recently, the time-trial World Champion has spent time in France to recon some of the stages that can be important away from the mountains. "I think it’s something that everyone should be aware of. It’s gravel but it’s nothing special. For sure we have to be careful not to lose time but I think it’s a beautiful stage and I really enjoyed the recon."

"For me, it was a good thing to see the stages but I’m not the only one who has been there. Ineos and Visma have also been there. So it’s not a secret in pro cycling that we want to see stages like this so that it doesn’t affect the season. On the other hand, we want to plan more recon but I don’t know the details on that yet.”

Evenepoel is making his Tour de France debut in 2024, after targeting both Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España in the past. Despite being a route suited to the climbers - and not featuring many time-trialing kilometers which he could profit from - the Belgian aims for the overall classification, as well as valuable experience for the future.

Later this spring and summer he will still explore the mountain stages that will be key to the fight for the yellow jersey, as well as for the first time doing the preparation for the Tour in it's traditional form. This will also include the Criterium du Dauphiné.

Talking before his win at the Figueira Champions Classic, he continues to talk down his chances of winning the Grand Boucle, but aiming for a more modest goal. “If I could really say a dream come true, it would be to be on the podium in Nice. the spot doesn’t matter, just being on the podium in Nice. It would be a dream come true," he concludes.