Remco Evenepoel is back in training as he begins preparation for the Tour de France, with the Belgian posting a ride titled 'Start the countdown' to Strava on Sunday.
The Belgian finished off his spring block of racing at the Ardennes Classics last month, winning Amstel Gold Race and taking third at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. However, he won't race again until the Tour, which kicks off in Barcelona on July 4.
June's Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes was set to be his main warmup for the Tour, but Evenepoel's Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team recently announced that he'll skip the race. Instead, training camps and Tour de France route recons are on the menu before July.
With no racing planned before Barcelona, Evenepoel's path to the Tour differs from the Tour's other top GC contenders. Jonas Vingegaard is currently racing the Giro as part of his Giro-Tour double bid, while French phenom Paul Seixas will tackle the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes as a favourite on his debut there.
Defending champion Tadej Pogačar, meanwhile, heads to the Tour via Switzerland, as a Tour de Suisse debut follows his dominant victory at the Tour de Romandie.
