The dust is still settling on Tadei Pogachar's Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double this season: Lemco Evenpoel.

According to Patrick Lefebvre, Soudal-QuickStep's longtime outspoken team manager, there is a “realistic option” for Evenpoel to return to the Italian Grand Tour before the double with the Tour de France in July.

Evenpoel last competed in the Giro d'Italia in 2023, when he and several teammates went down in COVID-19, forcing him to abandon the race for the second time in three years. In his debut Tour de France this summer, he had great success, finishing third overall, winning a stage and the best young rider jersey.

In a lengthy interview with Dernière Heure, Lefebvre also addressed the persistent rumors of Evenpole moving teams in 2025, saying, “Four years ago it was Ineos, now it's Red Bull; four years ago it was Ineos, now it's Red Bull. I wonder what it will be tomorrow, maybe the UAE.

As for the possibility of Evenpole competing in the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France consecutively, Lefebvre told a Belgian newspaper, “I don't know. Nevertheless, it is a realistic option for 2025.”

“Pogachar did it and we thought both were possible. The example of the Slovenians will be a source of inspiration for Lemko."

”The Slovenian example is a good one.

The idea of a Giro/Tour double for Evenpoel in 2024 was already briefly floated after the Tour announcement last October, but was ultimately turned down because the Olympics this summer was another goal.

Lefebvre said that such a radical change of plans would only be slightly comparable to 2023, when Evenpoel returned to the Vuelta a España after competing in the Giro and combined two three-week stage races for the first time in his career, and to date, only He admitted that it meant a very different build-up from the season.

While Pogachar raced a total of 12 days before the Giro d'Italia, Evenepoel had to be in great shape in mid-April and will likely race Milan-San Remo before going to the Italian Grand Tour, Lefebvre said.

Many Belgian fans will be happy to see the world and Olympic time trial champion follow in Pogachar's footsteps and compete in another Tour de Flanders. But Lefebvre, for now at least, indirectly rejected the idea of combining San Remo and the Ronde.

“He is not overly in agreement with that particular idea,” he told Dernière Heure. He said, “I think it's a good idea, because San Remo is a 300-km race, and it's physically exhausting.

“But cycling has changed. Riders no longer have to ride La Primavera as a warm-up. They train differently. One day they will ride Flanders and Milan-San Remo, but that will be when they have achieved their main goal of winning three Grand Tours.”

“What about after that? Above all, he has to make sure he continues to enjoy himself."

Perhaps because of Evenpoel's seemingly unstoppable success, especially at the World Time Trial Championships, rumors of a transfer have been rife. However, Lefebvre continued to deny the idea outright.

“I have no intention of doing that. Besides, it has been some time since a registered letter arrived on my desk saying that another team wanted to talk to me. So it's not even up for discussion.”

“On a sporting level, what could he get elsewhere?”“We may have less money than elsewhere, but he is doing well here and our relationship is built on trust.”

“Look at Parma; in 2026, he will He will be 26 years old. But by then we might have more financial backing too.

According to Lefebvre, a final decision regarding the 2025 season for Evenpoel is not far off. The main objectives will be decided at the October team meeting, with fine-tuning to follow later in the year.

The 2025 Tour de France route announcement is currently set for October 29, with an undetermined mid-November unveiling at the Giro d'Italia next May.

In any case, Evenpoel is committed to another “double. He will combine his recently won World Championship time trial gold medal with an ultra-tough training ride to reclaim his World Championship road race crown on Sunday.

This week, he had the idea of doing a “tribute” ride near St. Moritz, Switzerland, where his compatriot Johan Museeuw trained just days before winning the 1996 World Championships in Lugano, but St. Moritz proved too far from his current base in Switzerland. However, the idea was quietly dropped when St. Moritz turned out to be too far from the current Swiss base. Evenpoel, however, will train for seven hours on Wednesday as the countdown looms to the ultra-long (273 km) World Championships in Zurich.

Like Evenpoel, Museeuw was also a Lefevere rider in the 1990s.

“Looking at Lemko's Palma and the medals he won, there is only one conclusion. He is the best rider who ever raced for me,” Lefevere concluded.

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