La Vuelta a Espana 2022: Remco Evenepoel says he wouldn't 'fake such things' amid puncture debate
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 07/09/2022 at 10:29 GMT
"I felt really good, I also wanted to fight for the stage win, but I had a flat tyre at the back. I felt immediately that the grip was going. I had to change it." Vuelta a Espana red jersey holder Remco Evenepoel has responded to questions over his mechanical suffered late on the dramatic Stage 16 of the race. Stream La Vuelta live and on-demand on discovery+.
Stage 16 highlights: Dramatic crash for Roglic, Evenepoel punctures, Pedersen wins
Remco Evenepoel has moved to quash any doubts over his puncture suffered during Stage 16 of the Vuelta a Espana.
A crazy finale to the stage saw Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) apparently suffer a mechanical as the race headed uphill, just moments after red jersey rival Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) had dropped a sensational attack with 2.7km remaining.
Evenepoel cut a relaxed figure given he was inside the final 3km – the safety net to get the same time as the peloton.
The ‘three kilometre rule’ allows a rider who suffers a fall, puncture or mechanical incident in the last 3km to be credited with the same finishing time of the rider or riders they were with at the time of the incident.
In the end, Roglic was ultimately only able to make up eight seconds on his rival and ultimately had to withdraw from the race after a horror crash not far from the finish.
With initial images unclear as to how his puncture occurred, Evenepoel, who now leads the general classification by 2’01” from Enric Mas (Movistar), dismissed the idea that his mechanical might not have happened.
"Nobody can say anything. I'm not a guy who is going to fake such things," he said afterwards.
"We were fighting for position, I was sitting not at the front, but also not at the back, just in the middle of the group.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/09/06/3448049-70346148-2560-1440.jpg)
Evenepoel: I had a puncture
"I felt really good, I also wanted to fight for the stage win, but I had a flat tyre at the back. I felt immediately that the grip was going. I had to change it."
The Belgian admitted afterwards that he was blessed with some good fortune that his mechanical occurred within 3km, meaning he could be credited with the same finish time as his group.
"Not at five kilometres to go when there was a fast downhill and a lot of roundabouts,” he said. “I think after my bad luck of previous days, now I get some good luck."
- -
Stream La Vuelta live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement