Watered by the Segre River, now hit by drought, and surrounded by kilometers of ski slopes, La Cerdanya (Girona) is reminiscent of the valleys of Switzerland, sunk in front of green meadows with cows. A paradise on earth, with its own personality, where living generates happiness, among other things, by enjoying the same hours of sunshine as the province of Malaga. And under that spring sun, this land of perfect panoramic views also made a stubborn Remco Evenepoel happy this Wednesday, winner of the third stage of the Volta Catalunya, after beating the leader Primoz Roglic.
The La Molina station, at an altitude of 1,680 metres, became the umpteenth fair between the two titans of this edition of the race. The third time was the charm and Evenepoel, an unstoppable locomotive brimming with confidence and ambition, showed an unbearable strength for his greatest competitor. The first day started very late and did not reach Roglic. The second, after being the protagonist of the ascent, lost steam in the final stretch and could only be third. On this occasion, he attacked from a distance and controlled the Slovenian, who was more stingy in his efforts and who ended up bottomless.
From Olost, in Lluçanés, the peloton experienced another convoluted and extremely tough stage. There is no time for rest in this Vuelta. And very soon the escape of the day took place, presided over by the always bellicose Richard Carapaz along with six other companions: Guillaume Martin, Petilli, Zana, Cepeda, Van Gils and Eg. The entity of the protagonists made the squad think that the risk of escape was high. They soon acquired more than 4 minutes and that made Soudal react.
Modern cycling has become a voracious sport. The great champions, once slow-built racers, have been bred into fast-maturing off-road specimens for whom there is no tomorrow. It doesn’t matter if the stage goes up or down. If the goal is conducive to sprinters or climbing is for superclasses. Evenepoel, world champion of the Vuelta last year, is an example of this line of insatiable cyclists. He tried it in Vallter and was shipwrecked and the next day he bet all or nothing. He did not doubt his possibilities. Who said fear before Roglic? With 90 km to go, when the ascent to Coll de Coubet began, in a special category, he put his entire team to work together to turn the race into hell.
At the front, the escaped group broke up until only Carapaz, Martin and Gils offered resistance. But at the beginning of the last ascent to La Molina, a 12-kilometre pass with an average drop of 4.3% and ramps of up to 15%, they met their inevitable fate.
On the final climb no one was able to keep pace with the Soudals until Evenepoel himself launched one of his violent attacks. Holding on to his handlebars, pulling his kidneys, he advanced with a power that took everyone off the hook. Everyone except Roglic, who suffered more than necessary, but was able to hold on to his wheel. The Belgian began a psychological battle there. Up to five times he asked the Slovenian to give him a relief, to help him widen differences. He ignored all of them Roglic, who understood that the end, one of those slopes favorable for explosive runners, favored him.
Nothing of that. Evenepoel’s plan was accompanied this time by the correct forces and strategy to bring it to fruition. With 200 meters to go, he got up on his bike and gave a new acceleration that left Roglic off the hook for a few meters. At the finish line, the Belgian preferred to celebrate with rage, raise his arms and enjoy the moment, rather than add a second that would have made him the leader, as Roglic will wear the franjiverde jersey for one more day, but with no margin of time in his favor .
