Cadel Evans, the 2011 Tour de France champion, said that young cycling stars Remco Evenpole and Mathieu Van der Pol could be reborn as Grand Tour winners if they are willing to put in the necessary effort to change their physical shape He said.

The Australian, who participated in a Facebook live session with Sporza.be from his home in Switzerland on Monday, also expressed concern about the future of some cycling teams, given that there will be periods of no racing while the coronavirus outbreak continues.

"One team manager said in the press that if the Tour de France does not take place this year, many teams will disappear. I hope not, but we depend on the Tour de France and on the media and television, which is why we have sponsors."

A Belgian website asked Evans for his opinion on a number of current riders, but especially wanted to hear his thoughts on the rider they called "the new Eddy Merckx," the 20-year-old Dečuninck-Quickstep rider Lemko Evenpoel.

"He's a really interesting rider, and if he keeps progressing at half the speed he is now, he'll be good," Evans said of Evenpoel.

"It's great to see such a big, big talent coming out of a place like Belgium," Evans said of Evenpoel. Philippe (Gilbert, Lot Soudal) is still in the race, but it's good to see such big, big talent coming out of Belgium."

Regarding Evenpoel's future potential for overall Grand Tour victories, Evans said: "Of course, it is shaped by the people around him, but above all by his passion, motivation, and goals. If a rider truly wants to compete in a three-week race, he needs to spend three or four years building his body, doing the right races, gaining experience by doing the right races, and developing the right mentality to compete in a three-week race.

"This is the biggest difference between a one-day rider and a three-week rider: the physical talent of a one-day race does not necessarily translate to a three-week race. [But whereas a one-day rider gives 110 percent for a single day, such as Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders, a Grand Tour rider has to ride for three weeks at 80-90 percent effort and then give 100 percent at the critical moments.

"But maintaining that consistency for three weeks, as opposed to one day, is where mentality comes into play, and not all riders have that ability.

Dutch rider Mathieu van der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix) is another rider who has impressed Evans, and Eddy Merckx recently said he thinks the 25-year-old could one day win the Tour de France. Van der Pol, a three-time cyclo-cross world champion, earned the biggest win of his career in the 2019 Amstel Gold Race.

"Coming from a cyclocross background, Van der Poel seems to have a one-day race mentality," Evans said. 'Maybe riders like him are a little conditioned by the environment they grew up in, where people want them to win Amstel Gold, Roubaix, and Flanders. If he wants to go after the Grand Tours, he needs to change his shape.

Asked if riders like Van der Pol and Evenpool, who live in Belgium, would need to move to more mountainous terrain if they were serious about winning a Grand Tour in the future, Evans said that it would certainly be easier.

"But would they be content to live away from home, away from their friends and family?"

"For them, being away from the frits will certainly improve their climbing abilities," Evans joked.

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