Patrick Lefevere admits ‘doubts’ about Remco Evenepoel’s Tour de France chances after Vuelta a Espana defeat

Soudal-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere has admitted “doubts” about Remco Evenepoel’s chances of winning the 2024 Tour de France after a difficult end to the season.

The 23-year-old Evenepoel was aiming to build up his experience for next year’s La Grande Boucle, but struggled to do so after falling ill with Covid-19.

The Belgian returned for the Tour de Suisse in June, finishing third overall, but his Vuelta a Espana title defence went up in smoke in the 13th stage after he lost 27 minutes.

As such, Lefevere has been left uncertain of Evenepoel’s “exact level” as he looks to make his Tour de France debut.

“Maybe he should have started back at the Tour of Belgium instead of at the Tour of Switzerland, which was much harder. As a result, we still have doubts about the exact level he can reach in the Tour de France against guys like [Jonas] Vingegaard and [Tadej] Pogacar.

“We would have preferred if he could have enjoyed the Giro for three weeks before discovering the Tour de France. But because of all those setbacks this year, he immediately has to discover himself in the Tour.”

Evenepoel was still deemed to have a successful season, with 13 victories. This included a successful title defence at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, a time trial triumph at the Road World Championships, and wins at the UAE Tour and Clasica San Sebastian.

Lefevere rated Evenepoel’s season an “eight out of 10”, adding: “He was in the lead in the Giro until he dropped out with Covid-19. I think he could have shined without that illness. He was really in top form.”

The UAE Team Emirates rider broke his wrist at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and faced a race to fitness for this year’s Tour de France, where he eventually finished second.