Remco Evenepoel recons key Tour de France climbs - Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe star comes down from altitude for preview

Remco Evenepoel may not be racing before the Tour de France, but that doesn't mean he won't get a glimpse of what's to come. The Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe leader has arrived in France for planned scouting rides of some of the stages that will take place in the final week.

Opting for a carefully managed preparation to his first grand tour with Red Bull, Evenepoel has been at altitude training for much of May, before ten days at his usual Calpe training base in Spain.

He'll arrive at the Barcelona Grand Depart on July 4th as co-leader with Florian Lipowitz after a mixed early season. The Belgian hasn't raced since a third place at Liege-Bastogne-Liege but will take confidence in his earlier performances as he picked up eight victories - including in Amstel Gold Race.

Already revealed by his team, Evenepoel is now in the South-east of France to preview some of the final week stages. However, HLN has reported the exact stages and climbs that the Belgian is taking on before the grand tour.

On Sunday, Evenepoel rode the finale of the fourteenth stage between Mulhouse and Le Markstein-Fellering. Located in the Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges are the Ballon d'Alsace, the Grand Ballon, and the final climb to the ski resort of Le Markstein.

Another Alpine menu on Monday saw Evenepoel take on the the individual time trial from Evian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains, parts of stages 15 to Plateau de Solaison, 18 to Orcières-Merlette, 19 and 20 finishing on the iconic Alpe d'Huez.

Evenepoel's route to the Tour de France has caused a stir, with some questioning the lack of a preparation race beforehand. However, his team have stressed that it's all about control and fine tuning 'to the last millimeter'.

The 2022 Vuelta a Espana winner returns to the Tour after abandoning the race last year due to illness and fatigue. The 26-year-old will be hoping to replicate his 2024 Tour form that saw him put in some of the best performances of his career and finish third overall only behind winner Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.