Remco Evenepoel has confirmed that he will ride the Giro d’Italia in 2023, ending weeks of speculation over whether he would make a return to the race where he made his Grand Tour debut in 2021.
The world champion will be a top favourite on a course that features three time trials, a speciality in which he has always excelled.
After Evenepoel’s victories at 2022 Vuelta a España and World Championships, speculation had been rife as to whether he would take part in the 2023 Giro or head to the Tour de France instead.
The Soudal-QuickStep rider has now confirmed that he will make the corsa rosa his Grand Tour priority for next season. He abandoned the Giro on his Grand Tour debut in 2021, though the race was his first competitive outing after breaking his pelvis in a crash at Il Lombardia the previous year.
Evenepoel made the announcement in a video from Amalfi that he posted to social media on Wednesday morning. The Belgian is currently in Italy reconnoitring part of the Giro route in the company of directeur sportif Davide Bramati.
“I will ride the Giro in 2023,” Evenepoel said. “I’m really, really looking forward to it, and it will be a special edition as I will be wearing my rainbow jersey.
“I’m doing some recons, having some fun together with Brama, and I hope to see you very soon here in Italy. I hope you will all come to watch me and the whole team because we hope to do very well again.”
The 2023 Giro features some 70km of time trialling, beginning with an 18km individual test to Ortona on the opening day. Another flat time trial of 30km follows on stage 9 to Cesena. The third and final time trial is a stiff mountain effort up Monte Lussari on the penultimate day.
The race is one of two distinct halves, even if the opening week also features summit finishes at Lago Laceno and Campo Imperatore. The high mountains begin in earnest on stage 13 over the Grand Saint Bernard en route to Crans Montana, while the second week concludes with a potentially explosive stage to Bergamo on roads familiar from Il Lombardia.
The final week, meanwhile, begins with a summit finish atop Monte Bondone, while there is also a demanding stage to Val di Zoldo and the Dolomite tappone to Tre Cime di Lavaredo ahead of the Monte Lussari time trial.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) will not be among Evenepoel’s potential rivals in Italy, with the Slovenian already confirming that he will look to retake his Tour de France crown from Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) in July.
2022 Giro winner Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) has yet to confirm his programme for next season, but Geraint Thomas is expected to lead the Ineos squad in Italy, while João Almeida is in line to head the UAE Team Emirates challenge. It remains to be seen if Primoz Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) can be persuaded to return to the Giro, where he placed third overall in 2019.
The 2023 Giro gets underway in Ortona on May 6 and concludes in Rome on May 28.
