As Remco Evenepoel reached his soigneurs past the finish after getting dropped and losing more than two minutes on stage 3 of the UAE Tour, his overwhelming emotion was surely disappointment - but there was frustration too, as perhaps became clear when he berated a cameraman who was in his way as he stopped and then rode swiftly back to his team van.
Evenepoel had started the day in the red leader's jersey and on a big high after winning the stage 2 time trial. But his GC bid evaporated, and his joy turned to rage on the final seven kilometres of Jebel Mobrah, where Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) surprised the top favourites and won the stage, also taking over red.
More bad news for Evenepoel was that Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who was supposed to be his biggest threat, made up for lost ground following a poor start to the climb and finished second. This came after the Belgian had looked the stronger on the lower slopes, responding to a move by Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) and only dropping back once his legs failed him.
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"What went wrong? Maybe a bit too enthusiastic at the beginning and probably he felt really good, but I think that's something he paid for towards the end," said Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe DS Klaas Lodewyck to Cyclingnews after the finish.
"But OK, it is what it is, we don't have to make a big drama out of it. Yes, he won yesterday [Tuesday] as he wanted to win. Of course, it's a pity to lose a GC lead, but still a few more days to go, so let's see how we see him this evening. We're going to chat about it, and we just have to move on."
Evenepoel didn't speak at the finish line amid the disappointment, but he did offer some words of explanation to Het Nieuwsblad after he'd settled down back at the team car, 500 metres back down the climb.
Having been spotted hitting his thigh during his effort, Evenepoel confirmed that he had suffered from cramps on the near-15km ascent.
"At the foot of the climb, I already had cramps coming on. Something I haven't experienced often. Maybe from yesterday's effort, which I hadn't fully digested," Evenepoel said.
"When I had to drop, I had a really bad kilometre, but after that, I managed to get through it somewhat. I often have that at the start of the season on climbs like this, where I have a bit of a rough patch. But I didn't feel good in my legs today anyway."
"I definitely kept drinking, so [the heat] can't be the cause. I don't think I digested yesterday's exertion at all. I didn't have the best night either; I woke up from the heat. But ultimately, I can't make excuses."
Despite impressing in his early days with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and already winning six races, Lodewyck admitted that he had been fearing for Evenepoel on this stage, without an altitude camp yet in his legs – he'll only head for the high ground of Mount Teide, alongside Florian Lipowitz, after his week of racing in the UAE.
"I think, in general, if you see the guys around the lead, they already did a training camp at altitude, or especially at Teide," said the DS, who has worked with Evenepoel at QuickStep and Red Bull.
"We know from the past that Remco really needs that preparation to do longer climbs and so on, so anyway I was a bit afraid for this stage, so let's say this only gave us the information we already knew a bit, but it's not a drama.
"We're in February, so still a lot of time to go until the big goals arrive."
Lodwyck also spoke of how Evenepoel wouldn't struggle by any means to bounce back from a low point such as this, asserting how he'll be ready to respond as early as tomorrow, and with one mountain stage still to make a statement to Jebel Hafeet.
"I think tomorrow he will be the first to say, 'Fuck let's go and try to do something again today', so I think bouncing back isn't an issue for him," he told Cyclingnews.
"I think it's normal that he's very upset with this outcome. Probably, he would have liked to see it in a different way. But it is what it is, so just try to forget this day and move on."
"I think I'm about a minute and a half behind. I might still be able to pull something off and go for the stage win on Saturday," added the Belgian himself.
In what was a chance to show the likes of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) that he is only improving as a threat for the Tour de France yellow jersey, Evenepoel has come up short by some distance. But it is still very early in the season, as his DS notes, with more than enough time to try and rectify his ability on the longest, steepest climbs.
