LILLE, France :Tour de France riders worry about crashes during the tense opening week of the race, Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel said on Thursday.
“I think everybody is a little bit scared of that,” Evenepoel told a press conference when asked about the risk of crashes in the first week.
“We don’t want to go out with injuries after a few stages already. Before a race like this, we all hope that the most nervous stages just end up not being nervous or not being really hectic.”
The 25-year-old rider, who took third in last year’s Tour, is aiming to secure another podium finish in cycling’s most prestigious race, which begins in Lille on Saturday with some challenging finishes in the early stages.
“First week is going to be difficult”, he said.
The double Olympic champion, who finished fourth at last month’s Criterium du Dauphine, aims to compete alongside Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.
“It’s logical as they won together the last five editions, so it means they are top favourites for this year’s edition again”, the Soudal-Quick Step rider said.
“It would be unfair towards myself, towards the team, to say that I’m not here to compete with them. So I’m just here to try and compete against them, try to make it a bit harder for them.
“It’s really difficult to say where I am exactly compared to them because last year I was the third guy and I think we’re here to try and improve that a bit.”
Despite battling serious injuries in recent years, the 2022 Vuelta a Espana champion has not shied away from his lofty career ambitions.
“I think everybody knows that my career goal is to try and win the three Grand Tours. I have one in the pocket, so two to go,” Evenepoel said. “I came third last year, so it means that the capabilities are there.”
