Remco Evenepoel will race for the first time since his Itzulia Basque Country crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné, using the week-long French stage race to test his fitness and as a vital stepping stone towards the Tour de France.
The 24-year-old Belgian leads a Soudal Quick-Step team that includes many of the riders who will support him in July as he makes his Tour de France debut and targets overall success.
Neo-pro Antoine Huby, James Knox, Mikel Landa, Gianni Moscon, Casper Pedersen and Ilan Van Wilder will ride in support of Evenepoel at the Dauphiné, which runs June 2-9.
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Evenepoel recently spent time training at altitude in Sierra Nevada in the south of Spain. He needed surgery to fix his broken collarbone but was soon back in training after the Itzulia Basque Country crash. However, he is not yet at his best and so played down his overall ambitions for the Critérium du Dauphiné.
“I am looking forward to returning to racing. I’m in a good place after the crash in Itzulia and the injuries I sustained there but there is still some work to do so I get back to my top shape,” Evenepoel said as Soudal-QuickStep confirmed their line-up for the French stage race.
“I’m happy to discover the Dauphiné, but I will look less towards my general classification position, as this will be more a chance to return to the race rhythm and see where I’m at.”
The 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné begnis on Sunday June 2 and ends a week later. The race begins in the Allier department and then heads east into the Alps, with a trio of summit finishes at the Collet d'Allevard, Samoëns 1600 and then the Plateau des Glières finale.
There's a rising 34.4km time trial on stage 4 and two stages earmarked for sprinters on stage 1 and 5, but the Dauphiné peloton is set to face a week of climbing.
The Dauphiné will be the last important test before this summer’s Tour de France, which starts in a month in Florence, Italy. Evenepoel is expected to then return to altitude and race the Belgian National Championships before heading to the Tour de France.
“The many summit finishes will be important, as they will give us the chance to see where Remco stands at this point in the season,” said Soudal-QuickStep directeur sportif Tom Steels.
“We also want to discover how he will fare in the time trial, which will be his first since that injury. It’s going to be a hard race, with a demanding course overall and a tough weekend.
“The confidence is there, the team is very good, consisting mainly of strong and experienced riders, but the plan is to take it one day at a time as we know we still have some progression to make.”
