Evans' 2013 season came to a good start after finishing third in the Tour of Oman in presence of a strong field. His strategy that year was to ride both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. In April, he placed eighth in the Giro del Trentino, a short stage race he rode in preparation for the Italian Grand Tour. The Giro d'Italia featured cold and wet weather, leading Bicycling magazine to call it one of the more grueling Grand Tours in recent memory. Despite the difficulties, Evans was posted in second position for a long time behind overall classification leader Vincenzo Nibali. He lost his second place on the last mountain stage, climbing to Tre Cime di Lavaredo, which was hindered by snowfall. He still managed to finish third in the general classification. Evans was the designated leader of his team in the Tour de France, but he encountered major difficulties as he was constantly dropped from the leading group in mountainous stages. His teammate Tejay van Garderen sacrificed his overall chances to help him in key stages, but to no avail. The Tour concluded in a major disappointment for Team BMC, as Evans took 39th place and Van Garderen finished 45th while Briton Chris Froome won the overall classification.