Soudal Quick-Step’s 24-year-old impressed on the tough stage two.
Remco Evenepoel is the new leader of the youth classification, after he pulled on the white jersey at the end of the second stage on Italian soil, which came to an end in Bologna – the finish of the first ever Giro d’Italia stage in 1909 – after an explosive final 20 kilometers.
While the last survivors of the breakaway were fighting up the road for the win – which eventually went to Kevin Vauqeulin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – the favourites had their own battle on the steep slopes of the San Luca, which featured twice on the course. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) took off 500 meters from the top of the ascent, opening a 20-second which looked insurmountable at one point, especially as only a couple of kilometers were separating them from the finish after the descent.
But Remco Evenepoel had other plans and started a furious chase behind the duo, showing in his fight to return that same grit that led to his many wins. On the technical descent, the Belgian began clawing time, and then, as soon as the road flattened, he put to use his superb time trial skills and continued to close in on his opponents. In the final 500 meters, the former World Champion bridged across and concluded the stage in that small group but with a 21-second buffer over the rest of the general classification contenders, a result which moved him into the white jersey and to second place in the overall standings.
“The first two days have gone pretty well for our team. I am happy to see I’ve made some improvements and also that I could fight until the end and come back to Tadej and Jonas. I was a bit far when they attacked, but I still had some energy left to erase the deficit and join them after what has been a really hard day. The way I responded to their attack gives me a lot of confidence”, said Remco after the stage. “Wearing a jersey and being on the podium in the biggest race of the season is an honor and I will try to enjoy it as much as possible.”
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
