In an interview with the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, Soudal Quickstep sports director Klaas Lodewyck discusses, among other things, the relationships between Evenepoel and the three leaders of Jumbo-Visma (Vingegaard, Roglic, and Kuss). Although the Belgian is just under 2 minutes and 30 seconds behind the leader Kuss, he is a few seconds ahead of the other two Jumbo-Visma leaders.
It will take everything to beat Jumbo-Visma, Lodewyck asserts. Evenepoel has reached his peak in the last two weeks, but it certainly won’t be any different for Roglic and Vingegaard. “However, I will be curious to see which of the three will be the chosen one,” Lodewyck states.
“They may be the best of friends, but you don’t tackle a Vuelta with pleasure. Not everyone is as generous as Wout van Aert. These thrilling internal battles can be advantageous for us. Just as the fact that Jumbo-Visma is currently carrying the weight of the race is one of them. And they should also check teams like UAE Team Emirates and Movistar, potential allies for us.”
To conclude, the director doesn’t believe in a final victory for Kuss. “On the climbs, he has already had some tough moments. And in that nearly 26-kilometer time trial, I see Remco dealing him a harsh blow.”