Soudal-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere has predicted a repeat of the Volta a Catalunya duel between his team leader Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič when they next clash at the Giro d’Italia, suggesting it will be “spectacular”.
Roglič and Evenepoel battled it out all week at the Volta a Catalunya, with the Slovenian claiming overall victory ahead of the World Champion by a narrow margin of just six seconds. The two won four stages out of a possible seven between them, with Roglič also claiming the Points classification and Evenepoel the other two secondary classifications on offer – the Mountains classification and the Best Young Rider.
The Volta a Catalunya was their last stage race before the Giro d’Italia. Both will soon head to altitude for a key block of training, with Evenepoel returning to Liege-Bastogne-Liege after his victory last year. Roglič is not expected to race again and so they next meet at the Giro d’Italia on May 6, when the Corsa rosa begins with a 19.6km time trial near Ancona on the Adriatic coast.
Lefevere was critical of his Classics riders but fortunately has Evenepoel under contract and is pivoting his team to support him in future Grand Tours.
Lefevere told La Dernière Heure (opens in new tab) that other riders might improve their race form before May but predicted that “we are looking at a mano a mano between the two in Italy. It should be spectacular.”
Lefevere even went as far as to claim that Evenepoel could have won the Volta a Catalunya overall had he not lost time by wanting to make a full-scale victory salute when he claimed his first stage win at La Molina.
Evenepoel then won again on Sunday after attacking on the hilly final circuit in Montjuic. Only Roglič could follow him, although after shadowing the Belgian all the way to the line, he did not dispute the final two-up sprint.
“He has been very, very strong, attacking from the start to finish in the race,” Lefevere told La Dernière Heure.
“What he did on Sunday shows that Remco is not just in great form, but that he also never gives up. That’s very promising.”
“I know he’ll have been a bit disappointed not have won this race but for me, that’s the most important thing.”
“He has taken two stages, he’s been the main protagonist of the race and he wasn’t any less strong than Primož Roglič, who’s not just anybody. I give him a good nine out of ten for his overall performance.”
“If he didn’t win overall,…
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