Remco Evenepoel leads Itzulia GC

Racing with panache and unfettered energy, Remco Evenepoel shook up the Itzulia Basque Country overall standings on the penultimate day, climbing to the top of the general classification in addition to leading the youth ranking after attacking from the distance and surprising many of the other contenders.
A debutant at the Itzulia Basque Country, Remco surged clear two kilometers from the summit of the tough Karabieta ascent and drew out a select group that quickly pulled out a 25-second margin over the yellow jersey. The main force of that move, the 22-year-old Belgian continued to drive the pace on the descent, where the gap went out to more than a minute, ensuring a breathless finale for the tough stage 5, which took in close to 3500 vertical meters.
The final hill was a nasty one, averaging 8.8% over three kilometers, but kicking up to a gruelling 16% in the closing 500 meters. On that section, as lone escapee Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) nabbed the win, attacks began firing from the elite group. Evenepoel promptly shut them down and took over the reins again, pushing a hard tempo to prevent any other surges and taking a solid third on the line in Mallabia, and with it, bonifications that made him the new custodian of the yellow jersey.
“When I attacked, I just felt it was the right moment, and seeing that many of the GC riders didn’t react gave me an extra boost to keep pushing. The finale was a bit hectic, with the rain making the climb even more complicated. Just 75 meters from the finish, I slid a bit, then the guys in front of me crashed, so it was quite eventful.”
“At the finish, the guys in the staff told me I’m the new leader of the race, which was quite emotional. I am speechless to wear the yellow jersey in the hardest week-long stage race of the season and I will give my best together with the team on the last stage. It will be difficult and I expect many attacks from the distance, but we will try and I hope to have good legs”, said Evenepoel, the first Belgian rider in 33 years to wear the yellow jersey at Itzulia Basque Country.
Photo credit: ©Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Carlos Rodríguez Cano INEOS Grenadiers |
4:07:09 |
2 |
Daniel Felipe Martínez Poveda INEOS Grenadiers |
0:07 |
3 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:09 |
4 |
Ion Izagirre Insausti Cofidis |
0:11 |
5 |
Enric Mas Nicolau Movistar Team |
0:11 |
6 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
0:11 |
7 |
Aleksandr Vlasov BORA - hansgrohe |
0:18 |
8 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
0:20 |
9 |
Marc Soler Giménez UAE Team Emirates |
0:38 |
10 |
Fernando Barceló Aragón Caja Rural - Seguros RGA |
1:07 |
31 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:27 |
71 |
Rémi Cavagna
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
13:01 |
77 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
13:01 |
105 |
Dries Devenyns
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
20:49 |
107 |
James Knox
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
20:51 |
1 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
18:12:29 |
2 |
Daniel Felipe Martínez Poveda INEOS Grenadiers |
0:02 |
3 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia |
0:20 |
4 |
Ion Izagirre Insausti Cofidis |
0:21 |
5 |
Aleksandr Vlasov BORA - hansgrohe |
0:22 |
6 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
0:29 |
7 |
Enric Mas Nicolau Movistar Team |
0:37 |
8 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
1:05 |
9 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
1:15 |
10 |
Marc Soler Giménez UAE Team Emirates |
1:30 |
12 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:39 |
56 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
24:25 |
89 |
Rémi Cavagna
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
45:19 |
94 |
Dries Devenyns
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
46:51 |
119 |
James Knox
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:04:32 |
1 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
65 pt |
2 |
Daniel Felipe Martínez Poveda INEOS Grenadiers |
54 pt |
3 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
51 pt |
4 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
47 pt |
5 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
46 pt |
6 |
Aleksandr Vlasov BORA - hansgrohe |
42 pt |
7 |
Carlos Rodríguez Cano INEOS Grenadiers |
37 pt |
8 |
Ion Izagirre Insausti Cofidis |
32 pt |
9 |
Marc Soler Giménez UAE Team Emirates |
29 pt |
10 |
Bruno Armirail Groupama - FDJ |
29 pt |
22 |
Rémi Cavagna
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
16 pt |
44 |
Dries Devenyns
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1 pt |
1 |
Cristián Rodríguez Martín TotalEnergies |
27 pt |
2 |
Jan Polanc UAE Team Emirates |
13 pt |
3 |
Ibon Ruiz Sedano Equipo Kern Pharma |
12 pt |
4 |
Carlos Rodríguez Cano INEOS Grenadiers |
10 pt |
5 |
Marc Soler Giménez UAE Team Emirates |
10 pt |
6 |
Ander Okamika Burgos-BH |
9 pt |
7 |
Geraint Thomas INEOS Grenadiers |
9 pt |
8 |
Victor Lafay Cofidis |
7 pt |
9 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
7 pt |
10 |
Bruno Armirail Groupama - FDJ |
6 pt |
1 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
18:12:29 |
2 |
Felix Gall AG2R Citroën Team |
4:17 |
3 |
Ben Tulett INEOS Grenadiers |
4:30 |
4 |
Juan Pedro López Pérez Trek - Segafredo |
4:32 |
5 |
Carlos Rodríguez Cano INEOS Grenadiers |
6:07 |
6 |
Andreas Leknessund Team DSM |
6:25 |
7 |
Sylvain Moniquet Lotto Soudal |
7:18 |
8 |
Igor Arrieta Lizarraga Equipo Kern Pharma |
13:43 |
9 |
Nicolas Prodhomme AG2R Citroën Team |
15:20 |
10 |
Gino Mäder Bahrain - Victorious |
23:22 |
11 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
24:25 |
1 | INEOS Grenadiers | 54:41:33 |
2 | Groupama - FDJ | 8:59 |
3 | Movistar Team | 12:25 |
4 | UAE Team Emirates | 14:19 |
5 | Jumbo-Visma | 16:46 |
6 | Bahrain - Victorious | 19:48 |
7 | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 21:57 |
8 | Caja Rural - Seguros RGA | 22:51 |
9 | Trek - Segafredo | 25:30 |
10 | Cofidis | 26:43 |