The Belgian Champions remains third on the standings after the fourth summit finish.
Remco Evenepoel sported the white jersey of the race for the first time in his career, despite this being his 20th day as leader of the youth classification. It happened on stage 11, which took the peloton atop Laguna Negra, a rather short climb that returned to the race after being used also a couple of years ago.
Surrounded by three of his Soudal Quick-Step teammates – Mattia Cattaneo, Jan Hirt and Louis Vervaeke – as he began the 6.5km climb averaging 6.8%, the reigning champion rode a steady pace the entire ascent before accelerating in the last 200 meters and leading the favourites’ group home at the end of a stage that didn’t bring any changes to the general classification.
“The start was pretty fast and hard until a breakaway formed, I think that was actually the most difficult part of the entire stage. The guys did a great job protecting me and made sure we started the climb in the front. We knew it was going to be very hard to make the difference today, so we rode smart and relaxed”, explained Remco before going to the podium.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
