PROFESSIONALS | 02/06/2024 | 08:20
by Francesca Monzone
Remco Evenepoel he is ready to rejoin the group and today we will see him again at the Giro del Dauphiné. It will be an important appointment for the Belgian from Soudal-Quick Step because in this week of racing he will be able to understand many things in view of the Tour de France.
«I have no specific objectives or expectations – said Evenepole in yesterday’s conference -, in this Dauphiné I’m more interested in understanding what my feeling is with my legs rather than the final result».
Evenepoel will race this Dauphiné in view of a more important event, the Tour de France, where he will be at the start for the first time this year. His opponents will be Roglic and Pogacar and then there is still the unknown about Vingegaard.
«During the retreat at altitude I struggled a lot, so now I hope I end up better than I ended up. If I can do that, then this will have been a successful week. With me there will be Ilan Van Wilder and Mikel Landa, they are two guys in good shape and I will try to support them as much as possible.”
Evenepoel hasn’t looked at the route too much, but he knows it will be there next Tuesday a time trial and this will be an important test for him.
«It will be an important check to see if I can cope well with the pressure on the collarbone that I fractured at the Tour of the Basque Country. I’m curious to know how the shoulder will react when the muscles are all tense to be as aerodynamic as possible. This will be the next step in building fitness towards the Tour. The sensitivity of the legs and shoulder will be more important than the outcome of this race.”
This Tour of Dauphiné will not have the same importance as the Tour de France and it will not be possible to make a comparison with the strongest riders, because Pogacar and Vingegaard the Flemish will only be able to see them at the start of the yellow race.
«All the pressure will be on UAE Team Emirates. Tadej was very impressive at the Giro and at the Tour he will be joined by much stronger teammates compared to Italy. UAE will be the team to beat, Pogacar is the man to beat. Also there will be Jonas Vingegaard who won the Tour twice in a row. There isn’t much pressure either for me or for my team. We will have to try to follow the others and if you can follow Tadej for one day, then it will be like having won.”
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