Remco Evenpoel (Soudal-Quick Step) has denied faking illness to avoid racing in last weekend's Belgian championships ahead of his Tour de France debut.

Evenpoel abandoned the road race on Friday citing a minor illness, but had scouted the time trial to Jouvre-Chambertin on stage 7 of the Tour earlier in the day. The Belgian rider risks a two-week suspension if he misses the national championships without a valid reason.

"No, I was really sick. I'm not lying," Evenpoel told Het Nieuwsblad. 'The time trial reconnaissance was planned anyway. If I had competed in the Belgian championships, I would have done that too. I had a slight cold, so I didn't go too deep and just took it easy. It wasn't smart to run at full throttle. But really: the Belgian Championships were better."

Souldal-Quick Step manager Patrick Lefebvre revealed over the weekend that Evenpoel had been sick at the Criterium du Dauphiné, but added that the COVID-19 test was negative. Ivenapoel said he was affected by a cold at the subsequent training camp at Izola 2000.

"I'm feeling pretty good," he said. A lot of players left the Dauphiné with colds." At least until I trained in bad weather for a few days after the Dauphiné and caught a cold. It was by no means a serious illness, but it did raise my heart rate a bit."

Despite the bad weather at Isola 2000, Evenpoel had a successful pre-Tour training program and won the time trial at the Criterium du Dauphiné, but lost the yellow jersey on the first mountain stage to Le Corre d'Alevalde and eventually He finished seventh overall.

"Overall, I trained well and managed my physical condition well. I really gave it my best and achieved what I was looking for. It was also what I needed. With the weight of the Dauphiné, you can't keep up with the top guys in the Tour. The effort was necessary. That's a positive thing."

Soudal-QuickStep is looking ahead to Evenpoel's Tour debut, where he will compete against Jonas Vingegaard (Vimaris a Bike), Primos Roglic (Bora-Hansgrohe), and the popular Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates). and is trying to temper expectations. A top-five finish is an ambition, and a podium is a big dream," Evenpoel told Het Laatste Nieuws.

The Tour is the first of a busy summer for Evenpoel, who is aiming for the time trial and road race at the 2024 Paris Olympics. On Tuesday, it was announced that Jasper Stuyven and Tiesj Benoot will compete in the road race along with Evenpoel and Wout van Aert.

"In an Olympic year, you might think more about the competition than other races, but this is my first Tour and I want to do my best there," Evenpoel said. 'We divide July into two periods, both very important. Both are very important.

Unlimited access to all coverage of the Tour de France, including journalist reports, breaking news, and on-site analysis of each stage of the race. More information.