Patrick Lefevere not surprised Remco Evenepoel snapped on Tourmalet: "He's only human, isn't he?"

Next year, Remco Evenepoel will most likely make his debut in the Tour de France, team boss Patrick Lefevere also confirmed in conversation with Sporza. He does state that they will look critically at the rider's program, as Evenepoel likes to race a lot, which can break him in a grand tour.

Lefevere is not surprised that Evenepoel had a bad day in the Tourmalet stage of the Vuelta. As a result, his chances of winning the final went up in smoke. "He has been busy since last year's World Championships. Made all the efforts for the Giro and then got covid. Then trained and wanted to win again in Switzerland. In between to the Belgian Championships, again to win. Then an altitude training camp and to San Sebastien, again to win."

"He also wanted to win at the World Championships, but it was not his race and it was raining. Then he wins the time trial again. And then he goes to the Vuelta, again to win," Lefevere concludes the full Evenepoel program in recent months. "He's only human, isn't he? All the sacrifices he makes, I have never encountered second in my entire career. That day at the Tourmalet, I think the elastic broke for a moment."

According to Lefevere, Evenepoel will have to look critically at his preparation towards a possible participation in the Tour de France. "Of course he has his character, but we will have to slow him down a bit. Perhaps we should have selected a little more this year,"Lefevere draws a lesson. "If he wants to go to the Tour, we will have to adjust the goals a bit. I think he can stop after the Vuelta, but he really enjoys racing. And from Madrid to the start of next season, that's another six months. "That's a bit too long, I think," the team boss expects Evenepoel to ride a few more races this year.