Evans on road to recovery for 2013 season

The 2011 Tour de France winner and 2009 world champion has had four weeks of rest because of poor health.

A stomach bug contributed to the Australian's seventh placing at this year's Tour de France and then he withdrew from the road time trial at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

He had hoped to compete at last month's UCI Road World Championships in the Netherlands.

His BMC team said in a media release that Evans will undergo a blood test later this week in Milan to see how he is recovering.

"Based on that, we will decide the management of his condition," said team doctor Max Testa. "The plan is still to maintain the winter training schedule that was discussed before.

"So there's no reason to think we will change his training program at all for next season."

Evans will be 36 next season and still considers himself a Tour contender.

He said he had made the most of the enforced break from racing.

Evans and his Italian wife Chiara adopted Ethiopian orphan baby Robel at the start of this year and it was clear during the Tour and Olympics that he was enjoying fatherhood.

"Once we had a good idea of what was affecting me, I didn't want to compromise my 2013 by racing longer," Evans said.

"So it's been nice to take a good rest and completely recover from this virus and work toward being back to my normal level next year.

"Being a first-year dad, I've also enjoyed the free time with my family."

The route for next year's Tour, always a key moment in professional cycling's off-season, will be announced at the Palais de Congres in Paris on October 24.