Watered by the Segre, now suffering from drought, and surrounded by kilometers of ski slopes, La Cerdanya recalls the valleys of Switzerland, sunken in front of green meadows with cows. A paradise on earth, with its own personality, where living generates happiness among other things because you can enjoy the same hours of sunshine as the province of Málaga. And under this spring sun, this land of perfect panoramas also made a stubborn Remco Evenepoel (Soudal) happy this Wednesday, winner of the third stage of the Tour of Catalonia, after overcoming the still leader Primoz Roglic (Jumbo).
La Molina station, at 1,680 meters above sea level, witnessed the umpteenth battle between the two titans of this edition. The third was the good one and Evenepoel, an unstoppable locomotive brimming with confidence and ambition, overtook the rival at the finish line. If on the first day he started very late and did not catch Roglic and on the second, after being the protagonist of the ascent, he lost strength in the final stretch and could only be third, on this occasion he attacked from afar and he controlled the Slovenian, more claw in the efforts and who ended up out of breath.
From Olost, in the Lluçanès, the large group experienced another convoluted and extremely tough stage of 180.6 km. Very soon the escape of the day took place, presided over by Richard Carapaz with six other companions: Guillaume Martin, Petilli, Zana, Cepeda, Van Gils and Eg. The entity of the protagonists made the pilot think that the risk of escape was high. They soon acquired more than 4?minutes and this made Soudal react.
Modern cycling has become a voracious sport. The grand champions, formerly slow-burning racers, have been reproduced into fast-maturing all-terrain specimens for those who have no tomorrow. It doesn’t matter if the stage goes up or down, if the finish is suitable for sprinters or the climb is for superclasses. Evenepoel, current world champion, is an example of this breed of insatiable cyclists. He tried it in Vallter and was wrecked and yesterday he redoubled his bet. Who spoke of fear of Roglic? With 90 km to go before the finish line, when the ascent of the special category Col de Coubet began, the Belgian put his team to work in a block to turn the race into hell.
But at the beginning of the last ascent to La Molina, a 12-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 4.3% and ramps of up to 15%, they met their inevitable fate.
On the final climb no one was able to match the pace of the Soudals until Evenepoel himself launched one of his violent attacks. Holding on to the handlebars, by the strength of his kidneys, he moved forward with a power that stunned everyone. Everyone except Roglic, more suffering than usual. The Belgian began a psychological battle. Up to five times he asked the Slovenian to relieve him, to help him widen the gap. Roglic ignored all of them, as he understood that the end favored him.
Nothing like that. This time Evenepoel would not fail. With 200 meters to go he got up on the bike and printed a new acceleration that left Roglic hanging a few meters. At the finish line in La Molina, he preferred to celebrate with anger, raise his arms and enjoy the moment, before adding another second that would have made him the leader, since Roglic will wear the green-and-white jersey for one more day, but already no margin of time in favor due to the bonuses that the Belgian took.
