Remco Evenepoel: 'Roglič's sprint was not really fast'

Soudal Quick-Step leader rues missed stage opportunity, as we analyse the lay of the land in the Vuelta a España and hear from GCN's Dan Lloyd

19:55, Saturday 2nd September 2023

George Poole

Junior Writer

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Remco Evenepoel cuts a solemn figure as he rides past a euphoric Primož Roglič

5km from the finish of stage 8, Jumbo-Visma appeared to be in control. Sepp Kuss had attacked, his teammates Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard were content to sit in the wheels and their major rival, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) was forced to mount the chase.

5km later and Jumbo-Visma were triumphant. Roglič had won the stage in a sprint ahead of Evenepoel, whilst Kuss was pulling on the red jersey as race leader.

On the face of it, the Dutch superteam had enjoyed another marvellous day akin to the one they relished on stage 6, with Soudal Quick-Step taking another backwards step. But are things that simple?

No.

As Evenepoel would reveal in his post-race interview, he had been unaware of the race situation in the finale and did not even challenge Roglič's eventual stage-winning sprint. Not only that, but the Belgian had arguably extinguished Jumbo-Visma's masterplan and had enough in his legs to send a message atop the final climb.

In more ways than one, this was a stage from which Evenepoel and his Soudal Quick-Step team can take enormous confidence.

Kuss attacks on the Xorret de Catí, but to what end?

Sepp Kuss: 'I always knew that the jersey was a possibility, but I felt good and thought I would try whilst we still had the numbers'

"Primož [Roglič] said he wanted to go for it. At the bottom of the climb, he was ready to go as well so I said ‘ok, I’ll put myself out there first,’ and I yeh, had to suffer over the top," laughed a delighted Kuss at the finish.

The American was sat gleaming, plasters still on his face from the crash at the Tour de France that derailed his top 10 hopes - but crucially - draped in the red jersey as leader of the Vuelta. It had been another impressive outing for the American, finishing once more with the best in the race to ride into the red jersey, following Lenny Martinez's (Groupama-FDJ) struggles.

But did the Jumbo-Visma plan fail?

The plan was seemingly obvious: attack with Kuss - who already had a handsome advantage over Evenepoel in the GC - and force the Belgian into chasing, allowing Roglič and Vingegaard to sit in the wheels and await their next move.

If Evenepoel was not able to catch Kuss, then fantastic, Jumbo-Visma would have a GC threat taking more important time on their main rival for the red jersey come Madrid. If Evenepoel was able to catch Kuss, then Roglič and Vingegaard were ready and waiting to provide the counterpunch, going over the top to land another blow on the Soudal Quick-Step leader.

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However, such an attack failed to materialise as Evenepoel patiently made his way across to the leader on the road. Instead, Roglič and Vingegaard looked to be on their limit just to stay in his wheel, whilst Kuss - having made a big effort to go clear for 800m - was momentarily distanced from the group of favourites under the acceleration of Evenepoel.

Vingegaard himself admitted that Evenepoel's strength foiled their initial plans to attack on the final climb.

"We also talked about that we could go on the last climb, but Remco [Evenepoel] was super strong so I think for us, it was almost more about following than attacking," the Dane acknowledged at the finish.

"Not necessarily [did I feel better today], I didn't have my best day today, but hopefully I can have that in the next two weeks."

With two leaders on their very limit and one leader distanced from time to time in the final few hundred meters, Jumbo-Visma did not enjoy the final kilometre that they would have wished once Kuss had gone on the attack in service of Roglič's ambitions. But as for Evenepoel, the Xorret de Catí should only go to further his belief that a second Vuelta title may come his way in two weeks' time.

Remco Evenepoel: 'I felt good, I had no sore back, no sore legs, no sore shoulders, so all good with that'

“We wanted to see what Jumbo-Visma were going to do and we saw that they controlled it. We were quite happy with that and then I said to the guys, ‘look the first steep kilometre of the climb, you go full and after that I will do my race'," revealed Evenepoel.

"I quickly saw there was not many guys anymore in the wheels, then Sepp [Kuss] attacked and I kind of controlled it... I did not want to control it immediately, because I knew it was still about 8-10 minutes to climb. It seemed like Primož [Roglič] and Jonas [Vingegaard] also didn’t have the legs to go in the end."

Evenepoel's insight was revealing, not only for his reflection on the legs of his rivals, but for the aggression that the Belgian team displayed on a day where Jumbo-Visma had demonstrated such control.

Having watched a large breakaway go up the road, Jumbo-Visma showed their cards right away by committing riders to the chase alongside the team of race leader Martinez, Groupama-FDJ. For much of the afternoon, we watched Robert Gesink master the front of the peloton and guide his team towards the steep final slopes - upon which you would expect Roglič to flourish.

As it came to the Xorret de Catí (3.9km at 10.9%), the Dutch team continued to press forth as expected, but after 800m, Soudal Quick-Step made their first attempt to encourage Jumbo-Visma to make way. Their request was not heard, but 2.2km from the summit, their request was no longer optional.

Evenepoel's team stormed to the front of the favourites' group, with Mattia Cattaneo the man to ramp up the pace to an almost untenable level - for himself at least. After a short but excellent 200m pull, Evenepoel was left to sit at the front of the group, awaiting the next move on this chess board.

As we know, Kuss was the man to make the move, but it was in Evenepoel's response where the biggest lessons can be learned. Mature and poised - two words perhaps not associated with the Belgian until the past year - Evenepoel mounted the chase without question nor panic. Slowly but surely, Kuss was reeled in under the steam of the 23-year-old, and with a kilometre still left to climb, the catch was made.

In the absence of an attack from Roglič or Vingegaard, Evenepoel continued his rhythm as those in his wheel suffered. For the final kilometre of the Xorret de Catí, the Belgian showed no sign of fatigue as he sat in his saddle, maintaining a consistent cadence that would have you mistaking his legs for pistons. By the top, no rider had dared show themselves to the side of the reigning champion, and it was from the front that Evenepoel sent his message.

Having initially responded to Kuss' attack with an air of tranquility, slowly removing his glasses and placing them in his helmet before taking up the chase, Evenepoel reiterated his serenity at the top of the climb.

Rather than rush into the final 3km of descending that remained to the line, Evenepoel took the time to remove both his hands from his bars near the summit, sit up in his saddle and reposition his sunglasses over his eyes. All was calm in the world of the Belgian.

For GCN's Dan Lloyd, there was no lack of intent behind this display of control. Remco Evenepoel was sending a message to his rivals for the red jersey.

Dan Lloyd: 'It was a message to Remco's rivals'

When questioned by Orla Chennaoui on The Breakaway (available on GCN+) if Evenepoel's display of strength and poise on the climb had been a message to the likes of Roglič and Vingegaard, Dan's response was unequivocal: "It is exactly that."

"The reason I think it’s that is because there is not really a need to take them off and he’s at the front. When you’re behind someone you obviously can’t tell how they’re feeling, whether they’re grimacing or not, but that is a real tell-tale sign. If you’re behind someone, they take their hands off the bars when you’re at your limit… [it is sending a message].”

Roglič wins the sprint, but Evenepoel finds it 'easy'

As clear as his message may have seemed at the top of the final climb, Evenepoel's conclusion at the finish was even more resounding: he should have won stage 8.

Remco Evenepoel: 'It’s a shame and I feel a bit stupid, actually'

With 275m to ride, Evenepoel opened up his sprint for the line, only to be rounded by a surging Roglič with 150m to go. At first, all seemed simple, with the Slovenian simply having more to give than the Belgian following a finale that had seen Evenepoel do the majority of the work at the front of the race. But as Evenepoel soon revealed after the line, things had not been so straightforward.

“It’s easy, I just didn’t know we were fighting for the victory," acknowledged a clearly frustrated Evenepoel. "I thought that there was a group in front of a few guys, still in the front. But it seemed not to be because in the end I was not very surprised by Roglič’s sprint because it was not really fast, but I just didn’t know it was for the victory today."

"But it’s a real shame because I just went to Roglič’s wheel super easy just to follow on the line... It’s just a shame, because we miss out from a second stage win with the team in a very beautiful stage on my second home roads, so it’s a pity and a bitter pill to swallow.”

In the end, Evenepoel lost four seconds to Roglič over the line, believing that he was simply rolling to the finish having avoided any time gaps from opening up in the final metres. Disappointment at having missed out on bonus seconds to Roglič is not something the youngster may have felt just a couple of seasons ago.

Indeed, Roglič built his 2020 Vuelta a España victory over Richard Carapaz purely in bonus seconds. The Slovenian was once so dominant in explosive sprints from small groups that it led The Cycling Podcast's Daniel Friebe to coin the term, 'Roglification' - a phrase now used to sell Roglič's official merchandise, would you believe?

But having demonstrated his prowess in such finishes with his stage 3 victory, Evenepoel can now lay claim to having an equally fast - if not faster - sprint than Roglič. In this light, his disappointment at having missed out on another stage due to a lack of information becomes very understandable.

It was not arrogance, as some might conclude, but rather an honest appraisal of what the Belgian felt was a missed opportunity. He even deemed himself as feeling "a bit stupid" with the manner of his second place.

What lessons can we take in the battle for the overall win?

Sepp Kuss: 'It was amazing to see Primož win the stage and then when I crossed the line I realised that I could also be in the red jersey, so it is really cool'

Stage analysed, final sprint uncovered and Dan Lloyd's analysis delivered: stage 8 provided us with an afternoon of action that could have this writer putting pen to paper on a dissertation. Alas, this Vuelta has many more stories to tell before here and Madrid, and the lessons that have been learned from today will soon become an afterthought in the rearview mirror of stage 9.

So what lessons can we draw from stage 8?

The first of which should not come as a great surprise, but it appears that Sepp Kuss is still positioned at number three in the Jumbo-Visma pecking order. The 28-year-old was the first to sacrifice himself on the final climb - so to speak - by offering himself up to go on the attack.

It could have proved another tactical masterstroke for Jumbo-Visma, but in truth it failed to unnerve Evenepoel and only resulted in Kuss depleting his reserves as the final climb drew to a close. He was able to hang on today, but Soudal Quick-Step will take hope from the knowledge that the American was on his limit.

With an individual time trial to come, Kuss' lack of experience as a leader and with him having already ridden two Grand Tours this season, it only makes sense that he remains down the pecking order where Jumbo-Visma's priorities are concerned. However, that is not to write off either his or his team's chances, not by a long shot.

Kuss remains 2:31 in front of Evenpoel and 2:42 ahead of the next non-Jumbo GC favourite, Enric Mas (Movistar) in ninth. Although his time trials skills have left a lot to be desired to date, he has arguably never had to race one at 100% effort and is seemingly riding in the form of his life. Should he hold his own over what is a generally short ITT, Soudal Quick-Step and the rest of Jumbo's rivals will have to sit up and take note.

However, should Kuss falter, Roglič and Vingegaard are well poised in seventh and eighth to pounce on Evenepoel. The Belgian has no dual-leadership card to play unlike the duo, and as things stand, Jumbo-Visma's leaders should be favoured in the long climbs at high altitude - making stage 13 to the Col du Tourmalet a possible silver bullet in the Jumbo-Visma arsenal.

For all this writer's talk of Soudal Quick-Step's impressive performance on stage 8, the fact remains that Jumbo-Visma end the day in the red jersey, with the stage honours and having taken further time on Evenepoel through Roglič. They remain the team to beat.

But let there be no doubt, after his wobble on stage 6, Remco Evenepoel should leave stage 8 only bolstered in confidence for the rest of the race. Should his comments be believed at the finish - and it would prove a shock were they to be a lie - the Belgian felt confident that Roglič's accelerations today were 'easy' to follow. Given the Slovenian's prowess when the line is in sight, this is impressive.

Furthermore, having seen himself left in the wake of his rivals and struggling for a response just two days prior, it was Evenepoel who had Jumbo-Visma on the back foot during the upper slopes of the Xorret de Catí.

As far as we can see, the Soudal Quick-Step leader is not sick, remains one of the world's best climbers and should be confident of taking the race to Jumbo-Visma's red jersey over the course of the next 13 stages.

NB. As for Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ), Wout Poels and Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious), let us see how they fare over the next week before seriously throwing them into the mix.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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