Ahead of his return to racing next week at the Tour de Suisse, world champion Lemko Evenpoel did a "self-specified Liege-Bastogne-Liege" training ride.

The Belgian is set to defend his national time trial title later this month and his world title in August, and Switzerland is the first step toward that goal after he abandoned the Giro d'Italia.

On Tuesday, he took to Instagram to document a 231-km ride through the southern Ardennes region of Liège, tackling 20 climbs along the way and reaching 4,335 meters in elevation.

During the 7-hour ride, Evenpoel tackled famous climbs in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege region, including the Col de la Redoute, the Roche aux Faucons, the Côte de Stocoux, and the Col du Rosier. In the last two Monuments, he was the solo winner at La Doyenne and La Redoute.

Documenting his run on his Instagram story, Evenepoel called the climb "probably my favorite climb in the whole world."

Accompanied by team soigneur David Geeroms, he went to a bakery at the midpoint of his training day for eclairs and rice cakes.

The Tour de Suisse will include Caspar Asgreen, sprinter Tim Merlier, James Knox, Mattia Cattaneo, Mauro Schmidt, and Bert van Lerberghe. The race will conclude with a time trial, and Evenpoel, after a race rest due to COVID, will be one of the favorites to win Einsiedeln and Abtville, if not the overall.

"We are looking forward to Lemko's return to the team. The two individual time trials suit him, but guys like Kasper, Mauro, and Mattia can also do well on these stages.

"With Lemko back from illness, we will take it day by day and see what he can do in the mountains. On the flat stages, Bart will lead Tim.

Evenepaul's training in the Ardennes was his last at home before heading to Switzerland on Wednesday. The Tour de Suisse begins on June 11 and runs through June 18.