The 24-year-old, who is back in Dunedin on a brief break between events, will be in China contesting the Tour of Hainan when the 60th edition of the race gets under way on October 30.
The tours overlap this year which meant there was no opportunity for Evans to repeat last year's epic journey when he raced from China to Invercargill in just three days to make the starting line.
''I would have loved to have come back and defended the Tour of Southland but team duties come first,'' he said.
''Unfortunately, I could not get a release to ride in the race so I'm going to have to go and do the Tour of Hainan instead.''
Evans grew up dreaming of winning the Tour of Southland and converted that fantasy into reality with a wonderful week on the bike.
He produced a storming ride up Bluff Hill, dug deep on the Coronet Peak climb and extended his lead during the individual time trial to join Kelvin Hastie (1956) and Gordon McCauley (1996) as the only Otago-based winners.
''The Tour of Southland means so much to me. Winning it was just the best result of my career and everything about it was just amazing.
''It is actually the 60th year of the race and shaping up to be a really good race with [four-time champion] Hayden Roulston back and a few others.
''I would have definitely loved to have been on the start line but I have to be pragmatic. Being a professional is about riding for your team. It is just unfortunate that they overlap this year.''
Evans signed a two-year development contract with Drapac in March but his team has merged with Cannondale. Only two of the Drapac riders are required in the combined team, so Evans will find himself out of a job after the Tour of Hainan.
''I need to try to get my foot in the door with another team now,'' he said, adding it was an unsettling time.
His options include securing rides in the United States or in the United Kingdom, and he could return to Melbourne and ride for his old team Pat's Veg.
Evans said his rookie European season had been every bit as tough as he expected. The races were longer, more gruelling and the level of competition was far superior.
The break between races is often no more than a few days. Evans has amassed 62 racing days and faces another nine in China.
He has been saddled with much of the domestique work but, despite the challenges, he consistently placed in the top half of the field and shared a stage on the Tour of Korea.
''I takes a little time to develop and find your feet and that is normal. I felt I was very consistent and it does not take much more to get to the very front of the field more often.
''With getting this first season behind me I've gained a lot of strength and endurance and also technical ability and [race] smarts.
''It was a big learning curve but I soaked it all up and it would be nice to improve on that.''
