A strong showing of Soudal Quick-Step’s rider at his debut.
Remco Evenepoel wasted no time in making his presence felt at the first big stage race of the season, Paris-Nice, which got underway with an undulating stage around Les Mureaux, a small town lying not far from the country’s capital.
Victorious in dominant fashion at the Figueira Champions Classic and the Volta ao Algarve last month, the 24-year-old moved into the spotlight inside the final twenty kilometers, when he responded to an acceleration of another rider and kept powering on a small unclassified climb, taking four bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint in Montainville. A quick glance over his shoulder convinced Evenepoel to continue, as a small group joined him, until the foot of the final climb, where the peloton eventually bridged across.
The Belgian Champion was prominent again there, responding to an attack just 500 meters from the top before his Soudal Quick-Step teammates came back on the descent and made sure of keeping things together. The stage came down to a reduced bunch sprint won by Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), while Remco concluded in the main group and now sits in fifth place overall, thanks to the bonifications he scored Sunday afternoon.
Photo credit: ©Alex Broadway / Getty Images
