The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps (formerly the Critérium du Dauphiné) is always a hotbed of new tech. Fresh bikes get released into the wild for field testing before the Tour de France. This year this included the new Specialized Tarmac SL9, seen at the camp of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. While the bike was interesting in its own right, closer inspection of the images reveals a sticker under the downtube bearing the name ‘Remco Evenepoel’, appearing to suggest the Belgian is to make a surprise return to racing earlier then planned ahead of the Tour de France.
Red Bull have yet to release a full team roster at the time of writing, something which most if not all other teams at the race have done, so while this remains speculative the signs certainly point to the affirmative. Another clue is that the chain on the bike is gold, which Evenepoel nearly always uses as Olympic champion.
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At the start of May, it was reported that Enevepoel had axed the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps from his calendar, opting to not race at all for a full 69 days in the build up to the Tour to focus on ‘specific training’.
If Evenepoel is to appear at the race it’ll certainly be earlier than planned, and while there may be a desire to get some racing in the legs it is also worth remembering that the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps is the last race before the Tour to feature a team time trial, perhaps offering the Belgian specialist an irresistible final chance to tune this discipline up with a race number on before the opening stage in Barcelona and a prime opportunity to wear the yellow jersey.
Should Evenepoel line up at the start on Sunday it will certainly give pre-race favourite Paul Seixas cause for concern, and will certainly mean he doesn’t have the race all his own way. There is every possibility that if this is a surprise pre-Tour shakedown, Evenepoel will be flanked by a strong squad with a lot of firepower.
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