Remco Evenepoel looks 'untouchable' in red – Adam Blythe on Quick-Step star's dominant start to La Vuelta

ByBen Snowball

Published 28/08/2022 at 18:19 GMT

One question remains: can Remco Evenepoel last the full three weeks? If so, the Belgian is surely destined to win a maiden Grand Tour after another devastating display in the mountains saw him move further clear in the battle for the red jersey. Enric Mas is his nearest challenger at 1’12” with three-time champion Primoz Roglic at 1’53”. La Vuelta returns on Tuesday after a rest day.

Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) looks “untouchable” as he heads into the second rest day at La Vuelta with a big lead in the race for the red jersey, according to Eurosport expert Adam Blythe.

The Belgian shredded his GC rivals, including three-time champion Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), on the final climb in Stage 9 to underline his status as the race’s strongest rider.

He leads the fight for red by 1’12” from Enric Mas (Movistar), who also had no answer to the 22-year-old on Sunday, with Roglic at 1’53” in third.

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If Roglic is planning on a comeback charge, he will almost certainly have to claw back time on Evenepoel in Tuesday’s individual time trial over 30.9km from Elche to Alicante. The pan-flat course should suit the Slovenian – sadly for him, however, it could suit Evenepoel even more.

When asked on The Breakaway about the growing time gap between Evenepoel and his rivals, Blythe said: “It's very big indeed and that’s before we’ve got to the time trial which is arguably Remco’s strongest event within this Grand Tour.”

Blythe expects Roglic to climb into second in the overall standings on Stage 10, but does not see the defending champion threatening the current leader.

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“There will be some riders who lose time but not as much, but there will be riders such as Mas who I think will lose quite a bit of time in that time trial compared to Roglic and Remco,” he continued.

“I think if Remco keeps going the way he is, he just looks untouchable at the minute. He hasn’t shown any signs of weakness and his team hasn’t either.

“That was the question for us: how’s his team going to cope with it? But by heck, they are coping with it.”

'Not looking great for Roglic', says Blythe

Pressed on whether we were seeing a changing of the guard in the peloton, Blythe added: “No, this is Remco’s first proper try at winning a Grand Tour.

“Primoz hasn’t been [this bad] before it’s fair to say, so he might not be used to this.

“We know how mentally tough he is, we never know his cracks or weaknesses, but for sure this early in a Grand Tour, losing time like he is, it’s just not looking great for him at the minute – and it’s looking great for Remco.”

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