Remco Evenepoel has confirmed he is targeting the Tour de France and the Paris Olympic Games in the summer of 2024, setting his sights on a top five and a stage win at the French Grand Tour as well as adding Olympic gold to his collection of world, European, and Belgian titles.
Evenepoel revealed he is looking forward to perhaps the "most important month of my life" next July when he was named as the Belgian Sportsman of the Year for a third time on Sunday evening.
The 23-year-old beat Belgium's first-ever snooker world champion Luca Brecel and speed skating world champion Bart Swings to take the prestigious Belgian Sportsman of the Year award.
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Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, Sporza and other Flemish media after winning, he outlined his goals for the 2024 season.
"Next season I'm focused on Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour de France, and the Paris Olympic Games with the Road World Championships behind that," he said.
"My ambitions are for a third win in Liège and it's a dream to leave Paris with two medals.
"Then there's the Tour. It'll be a voyage of discovery. With Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar, and Primož Roglič, the gods of Grand Tour racing are at the start. The top five is the ambition – it would be a dream come true to perform better than any of them.
"A stage win is also the goal, so then I would have achieved the beautiful trilogy of a stage win in each Grand Tour.
"The Tour and the Olympic Games in July. The most important month of my life so far – and perhaps forever – is coming."
Evenepoel – who in 2023 won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the world time trial title, the Clásica de San Sebastián, the UAE Tour, two stages of the Giro d'Italia and three at the Vuelta a España as well as the mountain classification plus more besides – didn't reveal where he'd start his 2024 season.
A return to the Volta ao Algarve looks the most likely race for his season debut, though he did say that he wouldn't take in as many race days through the season compared to the 67 of 2023. July will be the peak of his year.
"Where do I start again? That may not be known yet. It has to be a surprise," he teased.
"What I can say is that I won't do any altitude training before Liège. It will be a season with few races.
"From May, in the build-up to the Tour and Olympics, I'll be away from home to alternate altitude training with few races, so for Liège, I want to spend as much time as possible at my Spanish base, close to my family.
"I can train uphill there and it's easier to put in kilometres on my time trial bike. Above all, it will keep me mentally fresh. I want to start my preparation for the Tour with a fresh and empty head."
Evenepoel is now back in training as he prepares for the new season and said that things are going to plan despite taking a long break from training.
"I didn't touched the bike for five weeks," he admitted.
"I didnt touched the bike for five weeks," he admitted. am quickly building up fitness, so that shows peace in my mind. I notice during training that I can do everything according to plan."
