Soudal Quick-Step started the Time Trial of the 1st stage of the Vuelta a España last, and this was not exactly favorable. Firstly, it was raining heavily, and the sun had already set. As a result, several teams had to do their races in the dark. When Evenepoel crossed the finish line, he reacted to this situation with indignation.
Evenepoel couldn’t hide his frustration, while his press advisor told the Belgian not to say too much. “They just need to know that it can get dark at night,” he ironically said. “If you can do a Time Trial throughout the whole day and … We had to wait all day. Rain is rain, but they could do something about the rest of the conditions (darkness).”
“You already take a lot of risks in a team time trial and then with these conditions that came… In my eyes, it was really ridiculous. I will make enemies and critics attack me again, but that’s it.”
“What the organization needs to know is that it was dangerous. It’s a shame. It had an effect on all of us. All the teams with an interest in the overall classification slowed down because no one could see anything. There was no team that could ride at the limit.”