Remco Evenepoel is expected to ride the Tour de Romandie in late April as a key step in his comeback from serious injury.
The Soudal-QuickStep team leader has made a gradual return to training in recent weeks after he suffered a fractured rib, shoulder blade and hand when he was doored by a postal worker's vehicle in early December.
His return to racing begins at the Brabantse Pijl on April 18 and then continue to the other Ardennes classics before heading to Switzerland for the Tour de Romandie (April 29-May 5). The WorldTour stage race is likely to serve as vital racing block before Evenepoel begins his preparation for the Tour de France.
"I was unable to train normally for a long time. Not only could I not ride my bike, but also could not do strength training in the gym. So I have to come a long way this time," Evenepoel admitted recently.
"I know what it takes to get back into absolute top shape, and that just takes a lot of time."
Race organisers for the Tour of Romandie were quick to announce that Evenepoel was listed on the Soudal-QuickStep roster for the race and Cyclingnews understands the Swiss race is on his race programme.
Also on the stage race entry list are Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), Laurens De Plus, Geraint Thomas and Caleb Ewan (Ineos Grenadiers), João Almeida and Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Matt Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla).
This year's Tour de Romandie starts with a prologue in Saint-Imier close to the French border, with a short but intense mountain stage to Thyon 2000 on May 3. The overall winner will be decided in the stage 6 time trial around the Geneva lake front. The total race distance of 698 kilometres includes 13,000 metres of climbing.
Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadier) won the 2024 Tour de Romandie, beating Aleksandr Vlasov and Florian Lipowitz by just a few seconds.
