Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) dominated in the stage 2 individual time trial of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, but because organisers neutralised the stage GC due to extremely windy conditions, he did not unseat Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) from the race lead.
The sun came out for the stage, but earlier blustery conditions threatened the race infrastructure and knocked over barricades, leading organisers to make a difficult call to both neutralise the GC and prohibit time trial bikes.
“In the end, we prepared all day like it was TT day, so with the fuel and everything, so it was better to use this as a good test with a nice result,” Evenepoel added.
He supported the organisation’s decision to require road bikes for the stage.
“The climb would be a bit faster on a TT bike. Of course, a decent in the crosswinds would be a bit more tricky on the TT bike, so I think that it has advantages and disadvantages.
“We have a sport where we are allowed to take last-minute decisions, and we have to respect them. So we also need to be real sportsmen in our minds and be ready for flexibility as well. For me, it was not a big difference. I also know I can ride pretty fast on a normal bike in a TT. So yeah, I just made a quick switch, and we decided to race for the victory. So I think it was a good decision.”
How it unfolded
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