World champion Remco Evenpoel (Sourdal-Quick Step) has revealed that he will not compete in the Tour de France following his early exit from the Giro d'Italia.

"There was talk," Evenpoel revealed at a press conference the weekend before the Tour de Suisse. But it was an immediate 'no.'"

Evenepoel abandoned the Giro after he tested positive for COVID-19 after regaining the overall lead with a time trial victory on stage 9. Facing criticism from former Italian professional riders, Evenpoel stressed that he was "very sick."

He opted to compete in the Tour de Suisse, which begins on Sunday, and the Belgian national championships at the end of the month, but was denied the possibility of taking the rainbow jersey for his Tour de France debut.

"Not this year, that's my answer," Evenpoel replied when asked about the Tour.

"What you have to understand is that I spent six months preparing for the Giro and three months in the naked mountains (Teide in Tenerife). It's not easy to get back to your best condition for a race like the Tour de France."

"If I start the Tour de France, I want to be at 150%. If I'm going to start the Tour de France, I want to give it my all and be at 150%.

Evenpoel was asked about the idea of going to the Tour to try to win a stage and gain experience, but claimed that external factors would make that virtually impossible.

"It is an option, but you guys will be sad. If I crash on the first mountain stage, it would be like a bomb going off in Belgium. With my goals and the way I race, it's almost impossible to go to the Tour de France without expectations."

Finally, Evenpoel argued that it would not be fair to his teammates, who have been preparing for the Tour, to change the shape and strategy of the team in an instant.

"They have been preparing for the Tour since April after the Classics. It would be very difficult to overturn everything and ruin their preparation. Also it is not honest."

Evenpoel was definitive, but assured that the day would come when he would compete in the Tour: "I will definitely take part in the Tour in the future.

Evenpoel explained that while he may not be in the form necessary to challenge for the Tour de France, he is good enough to be competitive in a prestigious week-long race like the Tour de Suisse.

"If I hadn't been in good condition, I wouldn't have been at the start," Evenpoel insisted. 'My main goal is to win a stage and do well in the GC.'

Evenepoel took 10 days off after the Giro defeat, explaining that his health had deteriorated in the week following the time trial on Sunday, which he won. The following Tuesday, he underwent tests and was cleared to resume training. He and a few other riders blew off the blur again before the successful conclusion of a 10-day training camp in the Ardennes.

"Two weeks after I retired from the Giro, I started to feel good on the bike again. I went to the Ardennes, got some good training in, and while I was there I decided to go to Switzerland.

The Tour de Suisse was preferred to the Tour of the Baloise Belgians, a decision that was questioned by Sourdal-Quick-Step manager Patrick Lefebvre, partly because the entry fee was higher in Belgium. The Tour de Suisse is a more attractive course with two time trials and three mountain stages.

"It wasn't easy to choose, but given my development as an athlete and my hopes and dreams for the Grand Tour GC, Switzerland is a good race to develop myself.

"Last year was a very good race for the All-Japan, so I decided to do a copy-paste. Last week, with 6 and 7 hour training rides and interval training, I'm back on track.