Remco Evenepoel launched an attack early in the 17th stage of the Vuelta a España when there were still 80 kilometers to go to the finish. However, the leader in the mountain classification paid the price for his audacity on the fearsome Angliru, where he was quickly caught by the main peloton.
One of Belgium’s leading cycling journalists, Michel Wuyts, was surprised by Remco Evenepoel’s decision to attack so early and considered it a foolish move. “If his goal was to win the mountain jersey, then he did a great job. But he was still expected to contend for the stage win. So his action of attacking 80 km from the finish was simply stupid,” said the Belgian journalist to the Belgian newspaper HLN.
“It’s not possible to start fighting so early in a stage like Angliru and still contend for the finish. You’ll automatically get called back,” Wuyts said.
Wuyts would have preferred to see the young Belgian rider take a more defensive approach. “Then he could still accumulate points with his mountain jersey and see where he stands now compared to the top cyclists in the peloton. It was also a great opportunity to gain confidence for next year’s Tour de France.”
Soudal-Quickstep also facing questions
The HLN analyst not only criticizes Evenepoel but also wonders what the management of Soudal-Quickstep is doing.
“Why is he being supported to start attacking at 80 km? Is there no one telling him to hold back a bit and take a different approach? Maybe he had the legs to win at Angliru. Anyway, I thought he impressed on Alto del Cordal,” Wuyts concludes.