If it hadn't rained, he probably would have arrived in Liège with a three-minute lead. Once again Remco Evenepoel he put on a show of his own. Belgium was waiting for him. The fans at the finish line roared when he sprinted onto the Redoute. And chanted his name.
A party yes, but the long-awaited duel of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège there wasn't. The fall of Tadej pogacar compromised this Sunday of sport. A duel that was already almost epic, even though it had yet to actually take place. It's a real shame it didn't happen.
Clear superiority
But as Queen also sang, “The show must go on.” And so even more so Soudal-Quick Step he took control of the race.
It was clear to see with the naked eye that the world champion was well. He pedaled with his mouth closed when the others had it wide open. He gazed at the view when the others gripped the handlebars tightly and stared fixedly at the wheel in front. He gained ground when those who were following him were behind him. tom pidcock it came off because it was completely overrevving.
«Remco – said the rider of the Ineos Grenadiers – he was incredibly strong today. There was really nothing I could do. I immediately realized I couldn't follow him., but I run to try to win and I followed him anyway."
Remco is fine, he's whipping his men into submission, and the long-awaited attack on the Redoute is inevitable. Especially since he's already "used up" his men: he must attack. And indeed...
On eggs…
And here an interesting chapter opens. Evenepoel is on the run, but he's not at risk. Even during the week you we had said who would not dare too much to protect his Tour of ItalyThe pink goal is too big. And they've been working on it for a long time.
And so they tell him everything on the radio. Pidcock is already a phenomenon in his own right, and he easily gets back into it after the Redoute. Remco does everything calmly and calmly. He drives as if he were pedaling on eggshells.
And you can see it at the first corner after being left alone. The world champion pulls himself up. He widens, tightens, then widens again. A textbook trajectory for young marmots. Pidcock, and the others too, instead enter straight at full speed. On that corner alone, the world champion will have lost 5 seconds. Do you understand why it's commonly believed he would have reached Liège within three minutes without rain?
More details about his great margin. On a narrow, fast downhill section, he lets the bike move away, not wanting the slightest obstacle on the trajectory, not even from behind. He consistently avoids the white lines of the road markings. They're too slippery. And when going downhill, he always grips the handlebars in the curve and never the levers. He looks like a rookie, not a world champion, so obvious is the "homework" he's doing. (in a good way, of course!).
Any difficulties?
From the outside it all seemed easy to us, but listening to Evenepoel himself it was more complicated than it might seem.
«This year's victory – said the Belgian after the race – It's even more beautiful because I'm proud to have won with this beautiful jersey on my back. It's special. As I've said many times, I wanted this victory so I could have the photo for my bedroom. Now I have it!
«It's true, I didn't take too many risks. When I felt I had a minute advantage I thought more about pushing on the climbs, than in other places. The road was slippery. For example, when I attacked on the Redoute, the rear wheel was slipping."
Without Pogacar
Pogacar's absence is the other key point for Liège. What would the plans have been like with Tadej in the running? Somehow, being slower in the sprint, Remco himself was forced to attack. Especially since his race pace wasn't the best, considering he was coming from Teide. And it's no coincidence that yesterday at Soudal-Quick Step they did some warm-up work, as Bagioli told us, even reaching the threshold. And Remco had even done it behind the engine.
«The plans? I was supposed to attack from the Redoute onwards – he explains – I knew I had to push hard there to break away from everyone. We stuck to this plan. But it was less easy than expected because anyway the Jumbo Visma he attacked usBut we stayed calm and ran our race."
Lefevere's scratch
Sly, Patrick Lefevere, The Soudal-Quick Step team manager waddles across the finish line. He passes through the crowd and journalists. Evenepoel is yet to arrive and he is receiving compliments from the people. Despite Van der Poel, despite Van Aert, in the end his team – a real totem up here for certain races – he doesn't come home empty-handed.
«Now they will say that he won because Pogacar fell – he said enigmatically to Sporza – but last year we already won in the same way. And last year too we had a difficult spring. But we're still here."
Now the Giro
And now it's really time for the Giro d'Italia. If Evenepoel's blood pressure was ten before, now it's one hundred. Operation Giro was supposed to start this Tuesday with an inspection of Mount Lussari, but the recent snowfalls have mixed things up a bit. In any case, tonight is the time to party.
"How do I celebrate? Last year," Evenepoel told Belgian TV, "I was able to celebrate this victory for a long time; I had no other immediate goals. This year, I'll have less time. But I have an agreement with the team's nutritionist. If I won, I could eat fries. She said yes, so tonight it'll be fries!
