Lemko Evenpoel revealed that he may not be “100%” ready for Saturday's Olympic time trial as fatigue and pessimism build up from the grueling battle for the podium at the Tour de France.

The 24-year-old Belgian stayed in southern France after Sunday's final time trial stage and the podium ceremony, which took place along with Tadej Pogachar and Jonas Vingegaard. However, he struggled in training before traveling to Paris on Wednesday for an important reconnaissance of the 32.4 km course.

He described the urban portion of the course as a “shit road” and admitted that he may never recover from his great struggle in the Tour de France. He was to challenge other medal contenders such as Italy's Filippo Ganna and Britain's Josh Tarling, who had trained specifically for the time trial, just as Evenpoel had done in the Tour de France.

“I always aim high, but I also know that I am not 100%. If I lose purely on performance, I won't complain,” Evenepoel told Sporza and other Belgian media on Thursday during the countdown to Saturday's time trial.

“I spent most of Monday in bed, and on Tuesday I ran a bit, but I wasn't feeling very well. Wednesday and Thursday were the same. The last week of the Tour was a tough one. It won't be easy to recover, but there are still two days to go.

“We'll see if it's enough. I came back from the Tour full of confidence and that is already a mental advantage.”

Evenpoel and Wout Van Aert will represent Belgium in Saturday's time trial, while Lotte Kopecky is a strong contender for the women's time trial. She revealed that she contracted COVID-19 after running the women's stage race at the Giro d'Italia, where she finished second overall on July 14.

Belgian national team coach Sven Vanthourenhout named Tarling and Ganna as candidates for Olympic gold in the time trial, but they defeated Ganna and Tarling in Glasgow last year, frustrating current time trial world champion Evenpoel It seems.

“I've already proven I can beat anyone,” he said.

“A lot is possible when the legs are recovered. You just have to see how the day goes. If I really lose by my numbers and figures, that's what will happen.”

“Maybe I can use my ‘big engine’ after the Grand Tour. The course is not that technical. That way we can show more endurance. I finished the Tour with a good feeling.”

Van Aert used the Tour de France to rebuild his form after a bad crash in the spring, winning the time trial stage at the 2022 Tour de France and finishing a close second behind Ganna in the 2022 World Time Trial Championships, but he has been in decline in recent years. At the 2023 World Championships, he finished fifth, 1:37 behind Evenpoel.

He broke several ribs, his collarbone, and his sternum in a high-speed crash at the end of March in Dwar do Hlaanderen, and is concentrating on the road race on August 3. The Tour is in my legs, but I am confident that I will have a good run on Saturday. I definitely needed the Tour to take a step forward,” Van Aert said.

“The last day of the Tour was a different kind of ride. There was little to gain and my heart was already in Paris.”

“My experience has taught me that if you can prepare 100%, that's the best you can do. In that respect, the Tour is a disadvantage. But I needed this Tour for road racing.”

“It may sound unambitious, but my goal is to run a time trial that I am happy with and proud of. I want to finish as close to a medal as possible. Even if I finish behind the three favourites for the win, I might still be satisfied.”

Evenepaul and Van Aert completed their final reconnaissance of the Paris time trial course on Wednesday afternoon, 32 days. The 4km course started at Place des Invalides, circled the Place de la Bastille to the east and the Parc de la Vincennes, and then returned to the finish near the Eiffel Tower.

Even Paul did not like the city streets after the reconnaissance run.

“The first and last five kilometers are pretty bad,” he said. After that it's straight and fast. There are some beautiful sights. But the road surface is pretty bad at the beginning and the end. So if you get black spots in front of you in the last few kilometers, that could be a problem. It's not very nice, but it's not a problem.

“On paper it looks super flat, but it's always falsely flat and it's going to hurt. Cadence, big gears, and keeping position are important.

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