Evenepoel: “I want a stage victory, hopefully in the time trial”

the Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Quick Step)head of Lapspend a nice rest day in Alicante as leader of the Vuelta España, with an advantage he had not expected beforehand, but he remembered that he had never won a stage, which he still considered a career goal.

“It was a very difficult week, but I had a good feeling and I recovered well. Wearing the red jersey before the time trial is the best way to spend the rest day. Obviously we did not plan this situation , but it’s better than two or three minutes ago,” he said.

For Evenepoel, who faces his second big test after his failed attempt at the 2021 Giro, the fact of successfully passing the first mountain stages “has been a dream”, but he still has a thorn in his side for not raising his arms to a purpose.

“I haven’t won a stage yet, so that’s still my main goal. It is very special to wear the leader’s jersey and be in front of the best climbers in the world. It’s a dream come true, but I also want a stage win in a Grand Tour. I hope I can do it tomorrow in the time trial,” he explained.

Evenepoel highlighted the work of his entire team so far, especially the double French World Champion Julian Alaphilippe.

“Bringing Alaphilippe to the front is like sitting on the sofa. The team is better known for the classics, but what we showed this week was really special. I think that in Ineos we are the best representative of the team in the last few races -climbing, four cyclists to me I think the Quick Step showed its strength on the mountain,” he said.

The leader of the Vuelta featured the work of the world peloton’s rainbow jersey, now acting as a domestique.

“Just following him goes all right. Doing that in the rainbow jersey is impressive… I haven’t seen many world champions do what he does,” he concluded.