Remco Evenepoel survives Wout van Aert onslaught and climbing mechanical to win Volta ao Algarve

Twenty four hours after Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) crushed the opposition to win the stage 4 time trial at the Volta ao Algarve using a staggering 62-tooth chainring, the Belgian was almost caught out when a mechanical threatened to derail his race on the final stage.

The race leader came into the last stage to the summit of the Alto do Malhão with a healthy lead over his competition but a surging attack from Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) with 40km to go and then a late mechanical that left Evenepoel stuck on the big ring for the last climb provided a dramatic finish.

In the end, Evenepoel survived both the onslaught from Visma-Lease a Bike’s all-rounder and the inability to change gears to keep pace with his main rival, Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe). The Colombian won the stage and chipped a few seconds off the Belgian rider’s lead but ultimately fell short of cracking Evenepoel, who became the second rider in the race’s history to win three overall titles.

Read more: Volta ao Algarve: Remco Evenepoel wins overall for third time as Martínez takes final stage

“I should be happy with this third victory. It’s a very nice feeling to come here and have a successful week and return home with three victories and two second places,” Evenepoel told GCN and the rest of the media at the finish line as he warmed down on the rollers.

When a 20-rider breakaway forged clear and then Van Aert tore off with around 40km to go, it looked as though the race leader and his Soudal team were in a spot of trouble. Van Aert came into the stage 1:18 down on GC but quickly built up a 50-second lead alongside two more breakaway companions. Soudal Quick-Step had to rely on help from Bora-Hansgrohe to close the gap and at the foot of the climb van Aert’s advantage was down to just a handful of seconds.

As soon as the road rose Evenepoel realised he had problems. Firstly, he was alone and without support, while Visma still had Jan Tratnik and Sepp Kuss hovering, and to make matters worse he couldn’t move out of his 54-tooth front chainring. Although the Alto do Malhão is relatively short, at around 3km in length, there are still pitches at close to 20 percent. The race was on the line at that point.

“We were calm. I think that you could see it on television. We had to sacrifice a lot of power from the guys because of the chase that was earlier than we expected. But we showed how mentally strong we are with this team. We never panic under any circumstances, especially with the one that Wout created now. We managed it very well and just unfortunately again it’s second place behind Dani,” Evenepoel said.

On stage 4 it was Evenepoel who put the opposition to the sword, churning up the 22km TT course on a 62-tooth front ring. His result eliminated seven domestic-based riders from the race after they failed to make the time limit and it looked somewhat ironic when Evenepoel was left crying out for a smaller gear once the front group hit the final climb. Instead of hitting the panic button he casually moved to the front and set the pace. On the final run to the line only he and Martínez were left to fight for the stage win

Read more: Remco Evenepoel’s races 62-tooth chainring and eliminates seven riders in Volta ao Algarve time trial

“I had to do it in my 54 chainring. I had a mechanical problem and couldn’t shift into my small gear anymore. That was a pity because doing a climb that goes close to 20 percent was pretty difficult. It killed my legs a bit. In my head, I stayed quite calm. I said it to the car ‘my gears weren’t working anymore’. It’s a shame because I’m a guy who likes to ride on a high cadence. In the first part, it really killed my legs and it was just a bit less in the end because of a lot of loss of power, due to the gear mechanical. That’s life. There are worse things.”

Next for Evenepoel is a block of rest and training followed by his first WorldTour appointment at Paris-Nice in March. His opening stint of racing in Portugal has been a success with a win in the Figueira Champions Classic, followed by another Algarve title. He’s the first of the ‘big four’ to race this year and will carry that momentum into the spring. It’s only February, and sterner tests are on the horizon but the 24-year-old and his improving teams are showing resolve and maturity. They’ll need more of the same as the season develops.