Remco Evenepoel was very close to take the pink jersey for some time, but after his bad day on the gravel roads in the stage to Montalcino, the difference to leader Egan Bernal has increased to more than two minutes.
However, according to Patrick Lefevere, the team manager of Deceuninck-Quick-Step, there is no awkward atmosphere inside the team.
“We had calculated that Remco could lose time. In 2019 he raced the Adriatica Ionica and he won a stage, but there was also a stage with three gravel sectors. He then lost minutes”, Lefevere told Sporza.
“You should not forget that a few years ago Remco was still a footballer, while the Colombians are used to racing over such strips. Our team was also too nervous, was at the front much too early, perhaps there was some stress.”
“And of course at Ineos Grenadiers they also watch television and they saw that it was not easy for Remco. So they posted Filippo Ganna up front. Perhaps his loss of time is a combination of a bad day and a lack of skills. ”
Lefevere emphasizes once again that Evenepoel is still on his first grand tour.
“We didn’t know how he would react to the rest day. No, there is no bad atmosphere here. Journalists don’t like to hear that. It were eleven beautiful days, but we have our feet on the ground.”
“We will see how he rides the stages of Saturday, arriving at the Zoncolan, and Monday. Those are the two tough rides. After that, there’s hope that he will reach Milan without much fatigue. It would be nice if he could win the time trial there.”
“However, we started without expectations for him. And it stays that way. Moreover: when it is finished, it is gone. When Remco is empty, we take him off course. If it is not finished, we will go to Milan and then we hope that he has learned a lot along the way. ”
