We need to go back to 1997 by Michele Bartoli to find a winner of Liège who succeeded himself and until 1987 to track down the last winner in the rainbow jersey: another Italian, Moreno Argentin. On Evenepoel Sunday, which will be tomorrow morning back in training for the Giro, there is something that the Belgians rightly celebrate and that adds the world champion to a club of giants who in this glimpse of 2023 have made the Monument classics extraordinaryIt matters little that the duel with Pogacar never took place.
from Sanremo , Roubaix by Van der Poel, passing through Pogacar's Flanders. To win the Liège, Evenepoel needed about 30 kilometers of solo action starting from the Redoute. An almost announced attack. The Belgian was in fact clear that the real difference would be made in the stretch leading to the Cote de Forges and so it was. Ask pidcock to confirm this.
Absent and present
Last night and even today it will be difficult Don't fall for the comments that will try to downplay his victory, claiming that his strongest opponent – Tadej Pogacar – was soon out of action due to the fall that caused a fractured scaphoid and the subsequent operation.
Let me be clear: the objection is not without foundation, but resorting to absentees could lead to downplaying the Slovenian's victory at Amstel, citing the absence of Van der Poel, Van Aert and Evenepoel. Sport thrives on duels, but also on fortunes and misfortunes.. And we must recognize that what the 23 year old did yesterday Soudal-Quick Step He was truly prodigious, just as he managed to win the world championship last year after the Vuelta, demonstrating that he no longer fears altitude. One thing we can all be sure of: that duel has only been postponed.
The Wolfpack's Redemption
Remco's victory was the result of his strength, but also of the dedication of the team that supported him. Dedication and desire to demonstrate (perhaps) that you have not completely lost the ability to go fast. From Alaphilippe to Van Wilder, via Vervaecke, Schmid and Serry, the team led by Peeters and Lodewyck he took control of the race even when Pogacar's exit could have reshuffled the cards.
They had planned to move after La Redoute and they stuck to their plan. And perhaps, assuming Pogacar hadn't been planning to attack much earlier, Having the Slovenian still in the race would have allowed the Wolfpack riders to have allies to control the race until the long-awaited (and failed) showdown.
"People don't see it," Lefevere commented after the race, "but Remco and the team spent four days at home this year, saying a lot. Training camps, altitude training, and route reconnaissance. Their life is made of these things and it's nice to see them rewarded by victory.».
And now the Giro
The focus now shifts to the Giro d'Italia, where The opponents will not be Pidcock and Buitrago, but much more solid riders like Roglic, Thomas, Almeida and VlasovYet the feeling is that Evenepoel has a clear plan for the pink jersey. The opening time trial is favorable, and the first uphill finishes aren't hostile. It remains to be seen as the days go by whether luck and fitness continue to favor him. the hay he will be able to put in the barn until the Cesena time trial will be the talent with which he will present himself to the great mountains.
Last year at the Vuelta, before running into that disastrous fall, Roglic had given the impression that he could overpower him in the third weekBut as with Pogacar's absence in Liège, no one can say how the 2022 Vuelta would have ended: for the rematch we will have to wait for the start from Fossacesia Marina.
It awaits us a Giro d'Italia worth following. With the certainty that Roglic will arrive in stellar condition and that Thomas, with Tao Geoghegan Hart at your side, it will be no less. It will be another generational clash in some ways. And recent history tells us that young people have no awe.
We will obviously be there too We at bici.PRO are ready to tell the story of the Giro d'Italia for the fourth time since our foundation.. And this year, in addition to the articles, videos, photos and posts on our social media, there will be some great news, which we will announce to you just before the start of the GiroIt will be one more way to be in the group next to us.
