Vuelta a España: Evenepoel defends admirably

Xorret de Cati (3.9km, 11.4%), the lung-bursting climb that propelled Julian Alaphilippe to his first Grand Tour stage victory six years ago, returned at the Vuelta, again in the first week, just before the race’s third summit finish. The last hurdle of the day, Xorret de Cati brought not just some inhuman ramps, but also a remarkable display of strength and confidence from Remco Evenepoel under immense pressure.
A small group led by the Soudal Quick-Step boys arrived at the bottom of the ascent, just a couple of seconds behind the day’s breakaway, who was easily caught by Mattia Cattaneo and Louis Vervaeke, paving the way for the battle of the GC men. The first to move was Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), but Remco remained calm and just upped the pace without getting out of the saddle on the steep slopes that at times reached 20%, pushing a tempo that brought back the US rider while at the same time prevented his two teammates from launching an attack of their own.
Evenepoel continued to lead the group over the top of the climb and onto the descent, and even had something left after all this incredible effort to sprint and take a solid runner-up, a result that brought him six bonus seconds. Following this impressive ride, the Belgian Champion moved up to sixth on the overall standings, with one stage to go before the first rest day of the race.
“I told my team today that I needed them to go full gas in the first kilometer of Xorret de Cati, and that after I would ride my own tempo. I felt good during the stage. When Kuss went, I didn’t panic and gradually pulled him back, knowing there were another eight or ten minutes of climbing left. Then, in the sprint, I finished second, which is quite a pity, as I really believe I could have won, but the thing is I thought there was still a rider in front. It was a communication problem and it’s frustrating, but it is as it is”, explained Remco after his 21st top three of the season.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
4:13:52 |
2 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
0:00 |
3 |
Juan Ayuso Pesquera UAE Team Emirates |
0:00 |
4 |
Enric Mas Nicolau Movistar Team |
0:02 |
5 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
0:02 |
6 |
João Almeida UAE Team Emirates |
0:02 |
7 |
Sepp Kuss Jumbo-Visma |
0:02 |
8 |
Marc Soler Giménez UAE Team Emirates |
0:02 |
9 |
Wout Poels Bahrain - Victorious |
0:34 |
10 |
Aleksandr Vlasov BORA - hansgrohe |
0:39 |
25 |
Louis Vervaeke
Soudal - Quick Step |
2:06 |
30 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal - Quick Step |
3:24 |
39 |
Jan Hirt
Soudal - Quick Step |
4:00 |
47 |
James Knox
Soudal - Quick Step |
5:48 |
65 |
Pieter Serry
Soudal - Quick Step |
8:51 |
145 |
Casper Pedersen
Soudal - Quick Step |
27:31 |
1 |
Sepp Kuss Jumbo-Visma |
30:51:06 |
2 |
Marc Soler Giménez UAE Team Emirates |
0:43 |
3 |
Lenny Martinez Groupama - FDJ |
1:00 |
4 |
Wout Poels Bahrain - Victorious |
2:05 |
5 |
Mikel Landa Meana Bahrain - Victorious |
2:29 |
6 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
2:31 |
7 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
2:38 |
8 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
2:42 |
9 |
Enric Mas Nicolau Movistar Team |
2:42 |
10 |
Juan Ayuso Pesquera UAE Team Emirates |
2:52 |
27 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal - Quick Step |
18:12 |
36 |
Jan Hirt
Soudal - Quick Step |
23:26 |
54 |
Louis Vervaeke
Soudal - Quick Step |
35:56 |
67 |
James Knox
Soudal - Quick Step |
47:31 |
109 |
Pieter Serry
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:09:02 |
145 |
Casper Pedersen
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:23:37 |
1 |
Kaden Groves Alpecin-Deceuninck |
158 pt |
2 |
Andrea Vendrame AG2R Citroën Team |
66 pt |
3 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
62 pt |
4 |
Andreas Kron Lotto Dstny |
62 pt |
5 |
Geoffrey Soupe TotalEnergies |
61 pt |
6 |
Marc Soler Giménez UAE Team Emirates |
60 pt |
7 |
Marijn van den Berg EF Education-EasyPost |
57 pt |
8 |
Edward Theuns Lidl - Trek |
55 pt |
9 |
Juan Sebastián Molano Benavides UAE Team Emirates |
48 pt |
10 |
Orluis Aular Sanabria Caja Rural - Seguros RGA |
47 pt |
42 |
Casper Pedersen
Soudal - Quick Step |
15 pt |
1 |
Eduardo Sepúlveda Lotto Dstny |
21 pt |
2 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
20 pt |
3 |
Jesús Herrada López Cofidis |
12 pt |
4 |
Sepp Kuss Jumbo-Visma |
10 pt |
5 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
10 pt |
6 |
Damiano Caruso Bahrain - Victorious |
9 pt |
7 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
8 pt |
8 |
Thomas De Gendt Lotto Dstny |
7 pt |
9 |
Javier Romo Astana Qazaqstan Team |
7 pt |
10 |
Matteo Sobrero Team Jayco AlUla |
6 pt |
30 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal - Quick Step |
1 pt |
1 |
Lenny Martinez Groupama - FDJ |
30:52:06 |
2 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:31 |
3 |
Juan Ayuso Pesquera UAE Team Emirates |
1:52 |
4 |
João Almeida UAE Team Emirates |
2:09 |
5 |
Cian Uijtdebroeks BORA - hansgrohe |
3:08 |
6 |
Einer Rubio Reyes Movistar Team |
4:00 |
7 |
Santiago Buitrago Sánchez Bahrain - Victorious |
4:32 |
8 |
Attila Valter Jumbo-Visma |
8:19 |
9 |
Michel Ries Team Arkéa Samsic |
22:14 |
10 |
Antonio Tiberi Bahrain - Victorious |
23:49 |
1 | Jumbo-Visma | 92:02:50 |
2 | UAE Team Emirates | 1:12 |
3 | Bahrain - Victorious | 2:52 |
4 | BORA - hansgrohe | 11:19 |
5 | Movistar Team | 20:23 |
6 | INEOS Grenadiers | 26:37 |
7 | Soudal - Quick Step | 28:57 |
8 | Groupama - FDJ | 37:49 |
9 | Caja Rural - Seguros RGA | 41:30 |
10 | EF Education-EasyPost | 44:44 |