I'd be fine with hypothetically sacrificing another Worlds, if it meant winning the Tour in 2024. And to me the best chance Remco has for yellow next year, is riding the Grand Bouclé this time (also for the team, which I don't think is ready yet to shoulder the burden of defending yellow, thus a trial period now would be very usefull).Could Contador have won the World Championships or Lombardia? Was his prep in any way affected in 2007? If Evenepoel had targeted the Tour from the start this year it would have made sense and I was also getting impatient. It‘s just stupid to throw away a chance to win some of the biggest races so you can gain experience in the Tour finishing fourth.
And even if Evenepoel isn't optimally prepared for Worlds, it doesn't mean he can't still take the rainbow jersey. On the other hand, Belgium also has van Aert's card to play to keep the title for a second year.