Remco Evenepoel raises safety frustrations after crash after Vuelta a Espana Stage 3 win – ‘It’s breaking my balls’

Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) pulled clear of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) towards the end of the Vuelta’s first mountain stage to take an impressive victory.

However, after taking a moment to celebrate, he collided with an assembled crowd in the finish area and fell heavily to the ground.

Evenepoel, who now tops the overall GC standings by five seconds, was left with a bloodied face but fortunately neither he, nor the person he hit, appeared to be seriously hurt in the immediate aftermath.

“It’s already the third [stage] in a row [with safety concerns], it’s a bit breaking my balls now.”

Asked about the strategy that his team had used for the race, which saw the Belgian refrain from attacking in order to conserve his energy, he said: “I think it’s perfect tactics from us, to just be patient, wait.

“I felt super good on the final climb, with a long but very strong sprint, super happy with this victory.

“I think for us it would have to be a very good thing that I was in a breakaway, but then I think when we caught them, for the win you have to be focused.

“We decided to go, I felt I had a big punch left in my legs. It’s a very beautiful victory here in Andorra, in high altitude. It shows that my preparation was good and I’m ready for the next three weeks.”

Adam Blythe on Eurosport’s The Breakaway said Evenepoel looked “very good” as he pulled clear of GC rivals Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).

“You could see him on the climb, he looked super comfortable. At the finish he went early, an incredible ride, but he just looks good, very good,” Blythe said.

Eurosport expert Dan Lloyd described it as the “ride of a champion”.

He said: “He [Evenepoel] was glued to both of them [Vingegaard and Roglic]. When they drifted to the back, he was also at the back, but he has also showed maturity over the last year or two.

“When he won the Vuelta, we already saw it. When he was dropped at the helm of Roglic his head dropped and then he said ‘no, I’ve got to limit my losses’.

“He’s progressed this year. Three years ago Remco Evenepoel would have attacked with four, five, six kilometres to go, trying to ride everybody off his wheel.

“Today he just sat in, he watched everyone, looked incredibly comfortable. The way he sprinted in meant he was comfortable, to be able to go that fast. Only by a second but that was a real statement at the finish.

“It was the ride of a champion, and the ride of someone who is not going to let the fight come to him, but is going to take it to the others.”