Solo winner, Saturday February 10, from his return race – the Figueira Champions Classic, in Portugal –, Remco Evenepoel is in the lead in the general classification of the Tour of the Algarve, which ends Sunday February 18. In 2024, the man nicknamed the “Little Cannibal” – in reference to Eddy Merckx – will pursue several major objectives. The Belgian cycling phenomenon, 24, will aim for a third consecutive victory during Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 21). Above all, from June 29 to July 21, he will compete in his first Tour de France, before participating in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (July 26-August 11), where he is expected during the time trial and the race in online, and at the world championships (September 21 to 29), in Zurich, Switzerland. At the start of the new season, the leader of the Soudal Quick-Step team answered questions from World.
Your year promises to be busy. How are you approaching it, after a 2023 season marked by your retirement from the Giro?
It’s an exciting season, with big races on the schedule. We defined this schedule a few months ago. Last year, we chose not to do the Tour de France and to favor the Giro. However, everything did not go as planned in my progress cycle. It was very frustrating to have to throw in the towel due to bad luck [malade du Covid-19, il avait dû abandonner, maillot rose sur les épaules, avant la 10e étape]. I am convinced that I should have won it, but destiny had it otherwise. We are starting afresh, and 2024 must be the season of confirmation. The team has a lot of expectations. It’s up to me to answer it.
If you had to choose just one of these races, which one would you favour?
It’s a difficult choice. And I risk having to offend my fellow Belgians by not choosing Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a classic which nevertheless made me love cycling, since I went there every year when I was younger.
But the Tour de France, with its yellow jersey, occupies a special place in the imagination. Every cyclist dreams of winning this event. For their periodicity, the Olympic Games have more value in certain sports. But cycling is not one of them. The Tour de France is an annual Olympics, with the best riders in the world.
What will be your objective in the Tour de France?
This winter, we focused our preparation on land work, an area in which I needed to progress in preparation for the Tour. This will be a great discovery. We hope to win a stage and, despite the strong competition, to be on the podium.
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