Remco Evenepoel tightens grip on Vuelta a España after ‘perfect’ first week

Remco Evenepoel exhaled when the question was put to him. “Oof, that’s very, very difficult to say,” he said atop Les Praeres, where he had just tightened his grip on the Vuelta a España still further with his latest feat of strength.

The question, “Do you think you’re the strongest rider in the Vuelta so far?”, scarcely needed to be asked. The evidence, already obvious, was laid out all over again in the final 3.5km of stage 9, where Evenepoel made light work of the 24% ramps of Les Praeres to buttress his advantage atop the overall standings.

Yet Evenepoel’s answer was instructive all the same. The 22-year-old QuickStep-AlphaVinyl rider, it seems, is not just measuring himself against the riders at this Vuelta, but also against the best climbers in the entire peloton.

“I think maybe the two strongest climbers are not here, that’s Jonas [Vingegaard] and Tadej [Pogačar], but I’m really happy with how I’m climbing,” Evenepoel continued. “I’ve been working really, really, really hard to get to this level, to get the climbing legs and get to the perfect weight. What we have so far is perfect. But I’m not going to say I’m the best climber or rider so far, that’s really difficult to say.”

Evenepoel’s ambition has never been in doubt. As a neo-professional, for instance, he sat down with a group of reporters in a conference room in Québec and casually rattled off a checklist of career goals. “The three Grand Tours… World Championships… The Olympics,” Evenepoel said then, smiling but not joking.

In the opening days of this Vuelta, Evenepoel’s public aspirations were more modest, but a week in, his stated objective of a stage win has been upgraded to final overall victory in Madrid. His performances leave him with no choice. The Belgian confessed as much in the mixed zone atop Les Praeres.

“Can I express that ambition now? Yes, I think so," Evenepoel said, though he quickly added: "The race is still long and there could still be a bad day. But we said from the beginning, we have to follow what the legs say.”

The legs and the road delivered an inexorable verdict on the Vuelta’s second successive summit finish in Asturias on Sunday. Despite losing Pieter Serry to COVID-19 before the start, Evenepoel’s QuickStep-AlphaVinyl squad policed the peloton all day and then teed up the maillot rojo for his seemingly inevitable onslaught on the short but steep haul to the line.

As on the Colláu Fancuaya a day earlier, Enric Mas (Movistar) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) were parked on Evenepoel’s wheel and braced for impact. This time, however, neither man could absorb the blunt force imposed upon them.

Time seems to slow down when the gradient rises to 23%, but it appears nothing can stall Evenepoel’s momentum at this race. His pedalling remained fluid even on the stiffest ramps. He seemed to float where the men scattered along the hillside behind him were labouring.

By the summit, he had put another 50 seconds or so into Mas and Roglic. As the Vuelta pauses for its second rest day, Evenepoel is 1:12 clear of Mas in the overall standings and 1:53 ahead of Roglič. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) is already over three minutes down and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) trails by more than five.

Time trial

Tuesday’s time trial to Alicante offers Evenepoel a chance to stretch his buffer still further. The biggest threat to his supremacy is no longer a rival, but simply his own inexperience. His lone previous Grand Tour appearance came at last year’s Giro d’Italia, which he abandoned in the final week.

“I think the heat [could have an impact], it’s going to become really warm next week. The more we go to the south, the more heat there will be,” Evenepoel said when asked about the biggest threats he faced.

“But let’s not talk in a negative way. We’ve done perfect this week, we’ve worn the red jersey for four days now. We can only be happy with what we have now. It’s always difficult to predict the future, so let’s just enjoy what we have now – this red jersey, my performances and the teamwork.”

Evenepoel’s QuickStep team has shouldered the weight of the red jersey with ease so far, though the loss of Serry to COVID-19 will be a cause of concern. The unforeseen variables at this Vuelta, sadly, are not limited to weather conditions or tactical permutations.

“I think everyone is still a bit worried about the covid situation, not just in the bunch but in the whole world,” Evenepoel said. “Yesterday Pieter was negative and only today he was positive, so I think maybe we found out just early enough. Let’s hope it stays like this, and the whole bunch can stay healthy.”

No matter, Evenepoel’s Vuelta could scarcely have run more smoothly to this point. Since the route was announced, his entire strategy seemed to rotate around the stage 10 time trial to Alicante. On Sunday, he became the youngest rider to lead the Vuelta for three days since Miguel Indurain in 1985. On Tuesday, he could emulate the mature Indurain by putting the race beyond his rivals in the race of truth.

“I think the course will be easier next week, but we’re getting into the second week and the fatigue is coming,” Evenepoel said. “I think this weekend, along with the time trial coming up, were three really important days that I marked in red for this Vuelta. I’m really looking forward to the time trial. But first I’m really going to enjoy the rest day, I need a good ice cream tonight.”