"It's not an option" - Remco Evenepoel won't yet return to racing after Tour de France implosion

Remco Evenepoel has spent months preparing for the Tour de France specifically and so upon his withdrawal, there will be a long period without racing most likely. There was a small chance that he would be racing the Clasica San Sebastian this upcoming weekend but it is confirmed that this will not be happening.

Evenepoel withdrew from the Tour suffering from physical and mental fatigue, not having his best legs but also being quite far from it. The Olympic Champion had three bad days in a row and when the peloton hit the Col du Tourmalet on stage 14, Evenepoel was already fully empty and did not continue the race.

It was a big problem but mentally perhaps helpful, as he had said at the time that for the first time in a long time he had listened to his body and that he had thrown a huge weight off his shoulders. he was third and leading the youth classification when this happened. In the past Evenepoel has won the Basque classic on three occasions, none however after racing the Tour de France. However after having a couple of weeks to recover, it would be possible for him to resume racing in the hilly classic.

But this will not happen. Het Laatste Nieuws has talked to Evenepoel's coach Koen Pelgrim, who has confirmed that for the time being a return to racing is not yet in the plans. "It's not an option. First, we'll let him recover well and fully from the Tour de France and recharge his batteries," he explained. Most likely, logic would dictate that Evenepoel would put his focus in the World Championships (where he would be the defending champion in the time-trial and a big contender for the road race) and Il Lombardia - with the Chrono des Nations also a potential secondary objective.