In the pages of Het Nieuwsblad on Friday morning, QuickStep-AlphaVinyl manager Patrick Lefevere suggested it might be a poisoned chalice. Outside the team bus in Camargo, directeur sportif Klaas Lodewyck even entertained the idea of giving it away. Try telling that to Remco Evenepoel, who paired his red jersey with matching helmet, glasses and face mask when he reported for duty ahead of stage 7 of the Vuelta a España.
Lefevere and Lodewyck are, perhaps understandably, in the business of downplaying expectations, but Evenepoel hardly seemed burdened by the thought of leading a Grand Tour for the first time in his career as he moved through the mixed zone on Friday morning.
Then again, Evenepoel’s entire cycling life has played out in the glare of an intense spotlight. In April 2017, his renown as a footballer was already enough to persuade a local television station to broadcast a report from one his very first junior races. The audience is bigger nowadays, but leading the Vuelta is simply the latest episode in a long-running reality show about a young man compelled to do his growing up in public.
“I had a good sleep. I think the weather conditions yesterday made me tired, so I had a good sleep,” Evenepoel said. “When I woke up, I immediately looked at the two red helmets that the team had prepared for me. It was a morning I will never forget.”
Out on the road, Evenepoel’s first outing in the maillot rojo proved even more straightforward than he could have wished. The early break went the distance, there were no frissons on the category 1 haul up the Puerto de San Glorio, and the sprinters’ teams performed the bulk of the chasing.
QuickStep-AlphaVinyl could spend much of the afternoon sitting in the wheels and Evenepoel rolled into Cistierna in the peloton with his overall lead safely intact. Rudy Molard remains second at 21 seconds, with Enric Mas a further seven seconds back in third, and three-time winner Primoz Roglic is still fourth at 1:01.
“For us, it was the perfect scenario,” Evenepoel said after he collected a fresh red jersey on the podium. “I think that two teams were able to control the race and we didn’t have to do anything, so everybody could try to recover from yesterday’s stage.
“In the end, everybody was doing well on the team. We were controlled and relaxed. It’s a pity for the teams working in the front that they couldn’t take the breakaway back, but a really strong group stayed away. It was quite a good day for us.”
Summit meetings
When the Vuelta route was presented in February, Evenepoel’s challenge seemed to hang on his display in the stage 10 time trial to Alicante, but the tectonics of this race have shifted after his towering exhibition at Pico Jano on Thursday. On the evidence of that performance, the arduous weekend doubleheader in Asturias could offer Evenepoel the chance to extend his advantage still further.
“The first aim is defence, that’s pretty clear,” Evenepoel told the written press when asked about his tactical approach to the weekend. “We don’t want to lose the jersey. Just getting out of the weekend with the red jersey, that’s the main goal.”
Evenepoel had been marginally more bullish in a televised interview a few minutes earlier, when he acknowledged that he would look to extend his lead should the possibility arise. “We’ll see, eh. I have a nice advantage. I would also be happy if I could just keep this time gap over the rest but, of course, if there’s an opportunity, I will not let it go,” he said. “It’s a three-week race and going into the time trial with an advantage would be better than being behind.”
The Vuelta’s opening week concludes with summit finishes at Colláu Fancuaya and Les Praeres, though stages 8 and 9 present rather different challenges. The peloton starts climbing immediately on Saturday with the category 2 ascent of Alto de la Colladona, while the final haul to Colláu Fancuaya is some 10km long at 8.5%. Sunday’s stage is longer, but the finale up Les Praeres is shorter and steeper, with the road climbing for 3.9km at 12.9%.
“They are actually completely different. I think Sunday, it’s like a 15-minute final climb, whereas Saturday will be around 30 minutes, but they’re both really steep climbs,” Evenepoel said when asked his preference. “I don’t know, tomorrow is a short stage, Sunday is a longer stage. A lot depends on how the final climb will be raced, but I expect the stage of tomorrow to be a bit harder than the one on Sunday.”
On stage 6, Evenepoel’s demonstration at Pico Jano was preceded by a show of intent from his teammates, with world champion Julian Alaphilippe particularly prominent. His QuickStep guard will again play a key role in what directeur sportif Davide Bramati colourfully described as the “two noisy stages” this weekend. Evenepoel, for his part, suggested the jersey on his back would prove a benefit rather than a burden.
“This red jersey also gives the team a boost, I noticed that when I put the jersey on,” he said. “The atmosphere is very good, and I hope it gives everyone wings, because we will need them.”
