OPINION: How Remco Evenepoel's departure changes the Giro d'Italia and his season

After 9 stages the Giro d'Italia has gained form. The overall contenders finally showed their true guns in the past few days, the contenders for victory and the podium became more clear, but now everything has been turned on it's head with the abandon of Remco Evenepoel with Covid-19.

An infection that could've hardly come at a worst time. Maybe if it happened later in the race and he was in the lead it'd be an even bigger anti-climax, however it is nevertheless a tough hit to take as a cycling fan. Why? The Giro now feels incomplete. Writing just hours after learning of his infection always has a different tone than it would otherwise the next day, and the same would be true for the next week.

The sense of being incomplete comes from the fact that this was the story everyone was ready for. Maybe not the most exciting for some, I know I can say that, as it feels that throughout the whole year the Giro was only going to be battled between him and Primoz Roglic, but the battle was clearly not going to be between two riders judging by the opening race of the week.

Besides being disappointed to see riders who devoted months of preparation towards a goal leave just like that, it's the missed opportunity of seeing him ride what he set out to. This was to be his only Grand Tour of 2023 and so his Grand Tour calendar may simply be interrupted for a whole year if he decides to continue with the progression and return next year. Whatever the result was, seeing how well he would ride the Giro and if he could take the victory was without a doubt one of the biggest plots of the year.

His battle with Roglic, was ended prematurely last year at the Vuelta as the Slovenian crashed, now ends prematurely once again. Whoever wins the Giro at the end of the three weeks will sadly have questions put on him such as "would you have won if Evenepoel was here" which won't ever be pleasant. It's the reality however, as after 9 days of racing he led the race.

Soudal - Quick-Step too are left without a mark. They have built the whole team around Evenepoel, and now will be left to redirection everything. The team will certainly not do the same towards the Tour de France, it's unlikely that he races it this summer because the route is in no way suited to his skills, and the goal will be to hunt stage wins with the likes of Julian Alaphilippe, the classics riders and the sprinter (which may be either Fabio Jakobsen or Tim Merlier).

I have to say that although I have a hard time seeing it, it isn't impossible that after some rest he now returns to training and heads to the Tour with less pressure. He would not have real support in the mountains - although that hasn't stopped for example Tadej Pogacar winning in 2020, probably not the ideal preparation, but he would gain experience for a future attempt which is certain.

The World Championships will definitely be a goal, and he could use the Tour to build his form up - and use that argument so as to shift pressure. It is possible that he rides the Worlds and then return to the Vuelta a Espana where he is the reigning champion, although I am not too sure if he'd be fond of that plan. Most likely he races the Tour, or he accepts the loss and continues with his initial schedule to focus on the Worlds and Il Lombardia.

As for the racing to come at the Giro, it meaningfully changes it. It's no longer Evenepoel versus Roglic, and the rest... It's INEOS vs Roglic, with João Almeida more of a card for the win now as well. INEOS have been racing to control, and now without Evenepoel in the lead and to attack, the British team may try to deploy their Tour of the Alps tactics and keep Roglic on a leash.

Geraint Thomas is the new pink jersey, however only 2 seconds ahead of Roglic. Unless he or Tao Geoghegan Hart are able to deal a blow, the controlling tactics may not be too effective as with bonifications alone the Slovenian can take over. However if Roglic takes over the lead, a Covid-blown Jumbo-Visma will have a seriously hard time controlling things if INEOS decide to attack.

I don't think they want to, but in my opinion it would be the most efficient tactics. Pavel Sivakov, Thymen Arensman and Laurens de Plus are in the Top13 and with less than 3 minutes behind Thomas. They have depth and they can use it, being in the lead of the race does not mean they must stay in the front and pace. After stage 13 this will be harder because huge gaps will emerge. Then the later they try to use it to put pressure on Jumbo and Roglic the less likely it is to be effective.

Those 3 can however later on join breakaways to which they can then be bridged across however. They will also be able to support and pace the leaders if Roglic is to have a less good day soon. But now a lot comes down to what INEOS choose to do. Jumbo have Sepp Kuss, but otherwise a very modest team. UAE have Jay Vine and Brandon McNulty but they aren't exactly racing for a common goal but instead doing their own thing.

Others could still emerge in the fight for the top places, but those four riders begin to stand apart. The brutal mountains, altitude and possible bad weather can, as I've often said, change the race in several different days which are just gruesome in terms of difficulty. Consistency will be key. The Giro changes tonight and everyone will begin to think of new tactics now that the one many considered 'the man to beat' is out of the race.