Remco Evenpole (Desseuninck-Quick Step) will focus on the World Championships and the Giro d'Italia once the cycling season resumes in the fall.

In an interview with La Dernière Heure (opens in new tab), the Belgian ruled out competing in the postponed Tour de France, saying he would prioritize the Giro if the Liege-Bastogne-Liege dates clash.

The UCI is working on a revised calendar for the fall, although it is still unclear whether the season can resume, as the competition has been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Tour has been moved from August 29 to September 20, with the Giro scheduled for October and the Vuelta a España for November. The World Championships in Martigny will be held from September 20 to 27. Evenpoel won a silver medal in the elite time trial at the 2019 World Championships in Yorkshire in his first season out of junior.

"If there are no changes to the World Championships program, the time trial will take place on the final weekend of La Grande Boucle, and the rainbow jersey is obviously a big goal," Evenpoel said when asked if he is considering competing in the Tour in 2020, La Dernière Heure answered.

"Also, I think the revised Giro will start with a time trial, so that could be an interesting possibility ......."

The 20-year-old started the season with overall victories at the Vuelta a San Juan and the Volta ao Algarve and had set his sights on the Ardennes Classics in April, where he would make his Giro debut in May, before going for the time trial at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The World Championships and Il Lombardia were to be his final focus for the year.

"Obviously it was hard when I found out that the Olympics had been postponed until 2021. But after a few days I realized I could use another year to continue my progress and gain a little more experience," Evenpoel said.

"Since the beginning of November, I was completely obsessed with the anticipation of Tokyo and everything was built around the Olympics. I was supposed to compete in my first Grand Tour and my first Monument (Liège-Bastogne-Liège) this spring. But I'm still going to run the Giro this year in October."

The UCI's revised calendar has not yet been finalized, but the RTBF has indicated that three monuments, including Liège-Bastogne-Liège, will be held during the Giro. La Doyenne is scheduled for October 4, and the Giro could be held October 2-25.

"Logically, the Giro d'Italia would take precedence," Evenpoel said of the possible calendar conflict. 'We've already discussed this within the team and with some of my teammates. La Doyenne will have to be ruled out."

"We theoretically only have four to five months to do the maximum number of races in the second half of the season. It would be interesting to hold the Grand Tour in two weeks instead of three. That way, more space could be devoted to other events. Otherwise, the calendar would force terrible choices. If the Giro and Liège-Bastogne-Liège are held at the same time, some riders will not be able to participate in their two favorite events. That would be a shame."