2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins has given his opinion on Remco Evenepoel's future, suggesting that the Belgian talent may have to look for a new team if he is to truly win the Grande Boucle.

"Is Soudal-QuickStep strong enough to support a potential Tour winner? Especially now that Patrick Lefevere is gone?" Wiggins wondered. "Maybe they should look elsewhere. Teams like Visma-Lease A Bike and UAE Team Emirates have domestiques who could win Grand Tours themselves. Soudal-QuickStep is not at that level."

According to the former British champion, a move to teams like Ineos Grenadiers or Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe could take Evenepoel to the next level, as he individually has all the qualities to win the Tour.

Evenepoel, who has a contract with Soudal-QuickStep until 2026, will have to compete this year with Pogačar and Vingegaard, winners of the last five Tours. Wiggins, however, emphasizes that the Belgian has an important weapon in his favor: the time trial. At the recent Criterium du Dauphiné, Evenepoel dominated the time trial, gaining 20 seconds on Vingegaard and 48 on Pogačar in just 17 km.

"He must not forget that he has important weapons, such as his time trial ability," Wiggins added. "The other two are jealous of this ability. When he has his day, he can compete on equal terms with them. He must exploit a possible cat-and-mouse game between Pogačar and Vingegaard, hold out on the climbs as long as possible and then use the time trials to make up time."

The 25-year-old Belgian carries on his shoulders the expectations of an entire nation, which has been waiting for a Tour winner since Lucien Van Impe's triumph in 1976. For Wiggins, the key will be to "fly under the radar" like last year, when Evenepoel finished third, 9:18 behind Pogačar.