A significant setback for Soudal Quick-Step and its leader Remco Evenepoel in the Vuelta a España. In the sixth stage towards Javalambre, Andrea Bagioli was forced to abandon the competition. The Italian cyclist was no longer in his best form and had lost significantly yesterday, as previously reported in Giro do Ciclismo.
In the early days of the Vuelta, Remco Evenepoel and his Soudal Quick-Step team seemed to have no issues. However, as the pace of the race began to intensify, problems emerged. Andrea Bagioli and Louis Vervaeke, two of the main teammates of the red jersey holder, crossed the finish line a staggering fifteen minutes behind the winner of yesterday’s stage.
The two cyclists started today’s stage (6th stage), a mountain stage to Javalambre, but Bagioli didn’t last long. The Italian, one of Evenepoel’s key helpers in the climbs, abandoned the race after just over fifty kilometers.