Sawt Falasteen - Debutant Evenepoel to lead Soudal-Quick Step at Tour de France

Evenepoel, 24, will be supported by Basque rider Mikel Landa in the mountains of the three-week race which begins on Saturday in Florence as well as Czech veteran Jan Hirt.

The Belgian will make his first appearance on the Tour, having won the 2022 Vuelta and finished 12th in last year's edition of the Spanish race.

"Riding the Tour de France is the dream of every kid who falls in love with cycling," Evenepoel said in a team statement.

"It's something I too have dreamed about since the moment I rode my bike.

"I would like to have a good Tour and get some nice results, but let’s not forget it’s my debut in this hard and beautiful event which is unlike any other, so the plan is to discover the race, take it one day at a time and see where this leads us," the 2022 world road race champion added.

Evenepoel is also joined in the team by compatriots Louis Vervaeke, Yves Lampaert and Ilan Van Wilder as well as Italian Gianni Moscon and Dane Casper Pedersen.

Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe misses out to focus on the Paris Olympics.

French team Arkea-B&B Hotels also announced their team for the Grand Tour with sprinter Arnaud Demare leading their hopes for a stage win on home soil.

Demare's fellow Frenchmen Kevin Vauquelin and Clement Champoussin are also in the team as well as Spaniards Crisitan Rodriguez and Raul Pierna Garcia, Italian Luca Mozzato, Belgian Amaury Capiot and Briton Daniel McLay.

The Tour begins in Florence before ending in Nice on July 21, with Paris, the regular location for the final stage, unavailable due to the Games.

J.AbuShaban--SF-PST