Former world road cycling champion Cadel Evans will skip the 2011 Giro d'Italia to focus solely on the 2011 Tour de France.

The Australian finished fifth in the 2010 Giro d'Italia, but says his efforts in Italy drained him before last year's Tour de France, in which he finished 26th overall.

"For this reason, this year I am putting it all on the Tour de France," Evans told Thursday's Gazzetta dello Sport. "Believe me I am very sorry to miss the Giro, but for me and the rest of Team BMC Racing this opportunity is too important."

"After the Giro last year I took too long to recover, plus I rode the last 12 stages in France with a fractured elbow."

Evans is still likely to compete in a number of warm-up races, including the Amstel Gold Race in the Netherlands and the Fleche Wallonne in Belgium.

"I am pretty certain I will be there for the Amstel and the Fleche Wallonne," he said. "I'm not so sure about Liege-Bastogne-Liege though."

"I've had good lead into the 2011 season, training well without any significant problems. It is a later start for me, but a normal time to start for a Tour de France rider," Evans told Roadcycling.com/Roadcycling.mobi.

Ivan Basso of Italy won the 2010 Giro d'Italia and 34-year-old Evans sees no reason why Basso cannot make a successful defense of the pink jersey in this year's Giro.

"There are many that are already riding well, but Ivan is going fantastically," Evans said. "I don't think I'm at the level to compete with him, but for the Tirreno-Adriatico (which starts next Wednesday) I would like to be pushing him and among the leading group."

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