Remco Evenepoel said “he felt his legs were empty” on the brutal gravel roads of the Giro d’Italia on stage 11, as he lost time to the favourites.
The Belgian star struggled on the unpaved roads as Ineos Grenadiers tore the race to pieces for race leader Egan Bernal, with Evenepoel losing two minutes by the finish.
Deceuninck - Quick-Step rider Evenepoel battled hard but finally lost contact with the general classification favourites 20km from the finish in Montalcino, losing time but not his confidence.
Speaking after the finish the 21-year-old, who hadn’t race for nine months before the Giro due to injury, said: “Unfortunately, I lost two minutes. It wasn’t the best day for me. I was suffering a lot on the second sector, then on the third one, when they started sprinting, I felt the legs were pretty empty, that’s why I was in the last position and couldn’t follow.
“It’s the way my body reacted after eleven days of racing that came after so much time with no racing. I’m thankful to the team and João [Almeida] for the job they did for me today, from the start until the finish.”
After finishing 26th on the stage, 2-06 down on Bernal, Evenepoel slipped from second place overall down to seventh, now 2-22 off the maglia rosa.
But there is cause for hope for the rising star - in the gravel stage to Montalcino in the 2010 Giro, Ivan Basso lost two minutes before going on to win the race overall.
“It’s not a good result for me, but I’m still seventh in my first Grand Tour and remain confident, as there’s still a long way to go until Milano”, said Evenepoel after Wednesday’s stage.
Deceuninck - Quick-Step sports director Klaas Lodewyck said: “We knew it would be a difficult stage. We lost some time, but considering the circumstances, it’s not the end of the world. We aren’t the only ones who lost time, it was a hard stage for a lot of riders. We continue to remain optimistic and motivated ahead of the big mountain stages.”
Alex is the digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter and now as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output.
Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) and joining CW in 2018, Alex has covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.
Away from journalism, Alex is a national level time triallist, avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
-
-
British men just miss out on Madison medal as Mørkøv gets gold for Denmark on final day of Roubaix Track Worlds
Katie Archibald also took silver in the points race, her fourth medal of these Championships
By Jonny Long •
-
Jan Ullrich undertakes longest ride 'since Milan - San Remo 1997' at Mallorca Gran Fondo
The German says he has been training hard over the past year after recovering from a troubled period
By Jonny Long •
-
Tadej Pogačar adds World Championships and Giro d'Italia to his wish list but is not done with the Tour de France
The Slovenian says he's still hungry to win at the Tour despite his dominance over the last year
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel share their thoughts ahead of Il Lombardia 2021
The two Deceuninck - Quick-Step riders come into the final Monument of the year as two of the main favourites
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Julian Alaphilippe says losing the rainbow jersey would have been 'a certain form of relief'
The French star stormed to an amazing second world title in a row on the roads of Leuven
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Sam Bennett makes return to Deceuninck - Quick-Step squad in Belgian one-day race
The Irish sprinter has fallen out with management, recently racing the European Championships without consulting with the team
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Mark Cavendish explains mid-race frustration to viewers during Tour of Britain breakaway
The 'Manx Missile' became frustrated with the motorbikes helping two riders the break had deliberately dropped
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
'Not much is missing': Julian Alaphilippe says he's close to peak fitness for World Championship defence
The current world champion put in an incredible effort on the Great Orme at the Tour of Britain
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Mark Cavendish unsure if he will remain at Deceuninck - Quick-Step but vows 'I will get even better'
The 36-year-old is racing this week's Tour of Britain
By Chris Marshall-Bell •
-
Remco Evenepoel 'couldn't eat anything until one hour before the time trial' at Benelux Tour as he considers abandoning
The former European time trial champion finished almost 40 seconds down on stage winner Stefan Bissegger
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
