Remco Evenepoel will not race the 2023 Tour de France, aiming instead for a debut in cycling's biggest race in 2024.

The World Champion won the Vuelta a España in 2022 and aimed at the Giro d'Italia for 2023. However, after two stage wins and days in the pink jersey, Covid forced him out of the race while in the lead.

With the Tour de France starting in six weeks on July 1st, speculation began that Evenepoel could recover and have enough time to prepare for an assault.

It would be quite a task, taking on the likes of Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and dealing with the pressure of being a top star. And that's too much for the rising 23-year-old star – says Soudal Quick-Step team boss Patrick Lefevere.

"No, Remco will not ride the Tour this year," he told Belgian media. "We're not going to change his program, that wouldn't be very smart. Remco must now recover and relax. Then he will undergo post-Covid tests and we will draw up a program."

Remco To Worlds, Maybe Vuelta

The idea is that Evenepoel will race the Worlds in Glasgow on August 6th and maybe return to defend his Vuelta a España title. Lefevere added that the plan remains for Evenepoel to debut in the Tour de France in 2024 when it begins in Florence, Italy.

Soudal-Quick Step will instead rely on riders like Dries Devenyns, Mauri Vansevenant, Julian Alaphilippe and Fabio Jakobsen for the Tour de France. The race starts this year, in Bilbao, Spain with three stages through the Basque Country and into France with an unusual route that only includes one time trial of 22 kilometers.

Without Remco Evenepoel, it will still be an explosive race. Pogacar and Vingegaard remain the favorites, but anything can happen this July in the Tour de France.