Remco Evenepoel’s last competitive outing on the Alto da Fóia is now immortalised in a statue at the summit of the climb, but this time around he was content to maintain a watching brief as a headwind tempered aggression in the finale of stage 2 the Volta ao Algarve.
A reduced group of 15 or so riders contested stage victory atop the Alto da Fóia, but there would be no reprise of Evenepoel’s striking, 500-metre-long effort of two years ago. Instead, the QuickStep-AlphaVinyl rider came home in sixth place on the stage as David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) sprinted clear of the leaders within sight of the line.
The frissons in the final kilometre were provided not by a rasping attack, but rather by a nasty crash, as Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma) and Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe) became entangled in the finishing straight. Evenepoel, who rolled home a second down on Gaudu, avoided the crash and admitted that the incident had not had any impact on his prospects of stage victory.
“No, maybe [it affected] the first three or four, but I decided to stay around seventh or 10th position and for the sprint of course, then you cannot move up to first place,” said Evenepoel, who now lies third overall, a second behind Gaudu. “I was hoping just to arrive in the first group and that’s what I did today, so it was good.”
Darkness had already fallen softly over the Serra de Monchique by the time Evenepoel was called to the podium to receive the white jersey of best young rider. That presentation took place almost three-quarters of an hour after the finish, as the organisation delayed the podium ceremony until Evenepoel’s teammate Fabio Jakobsen, wearer of the green jersey, had crossed the line.
Evenepoel took advantage of that delay to go through his warmdown outside the QuickStep-AlphaVinyl bus. As on Wednesday, he elected to do so aboard his time trial bike, as he diligently looked to bank another 15 minutes or so familiarising himself with his aerodynamic position ahead of Saturday’s 32.2km time trial to Tavira, which looks likely to be decisive in the final reckoning of this race.
A shorter time trial was pivotal two years ago, after all. While Evenepoel’s acceleration on the Alto da Fóia in 2020 lingers in the memory – and atop a plinth on the mountainside – his winning margin was ultimately constructed in the concluding time trial on that occasion.
Evenepoel faces into Saturday’s test locked on the same time overall as Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) and the Ineos duo of Daniel Martínez and Ethan Hayter, and he will be eager to put some distance into those rivals ahead of Sunday’s explosive finale on the Alto do Malhão.
“I felt really good, I think it was the perfect sensations with the eyes on Saturday,” Evenepoel said of his performance on the haul up the Alto da Fóia, where Louis Vervaeke was on hand to offer his help deep into the stage.
“I felt really good all day. I knew from the beginning of the hard climbs that I probably would not be dropped today, so I feel really happy with the feeling. I was really happy about the legs. I hope I will have the same legs or even better legs on Saturday.”
