Surrounded, besieged and attacked, Remco Evenepoel was a lone ranger on the ascent to Xorret de Catí before the army of swordsmen made up of the three leaders of the Jumbo, the surprising and new leader Sepp Kuss, and the two favorites Vingegaard and Roglic. But the young Belgian cannibal never shies away from battle. As uneven as the combat may seem, it is these situations that motivate him the most. This happened in the eighth stage of La Vuelta, in which, seven kilometers from the finish line, he had to negotiate a wall of just under four kilometers with ramps of more than 20%. Roglic took victory in a sprint in which his powerful final rush prevailed, but the Belgian was never intimidated, who led the climb to show that he has the necessary legs to win, and that his rivals will have to be braver than they they have been so far if they want to prevent him from repeating his triumph last year.
Evenepoel's reaction to Roglic's victory was most eloquent. Angry with himself. Disappointed by the result. The only thing going through his head was taking the victory. A furious gesture on the bike and a clear message: "I am very disappointed not to get the victory. It's a shame after the climb I did. I had the legs to win. I lost the chance to win the second stage and Roglic fell It took a few seconds for the bonus. It's a shame."
The stage promised more battle between the roosters of the race than it offered in the end. With a profile that accumulated more than 3,600 meters of difference and in which five ports were linked: the Alto de Vall d'Ebo (8.5 km at 5.5), the Puerto de Tollos (4.2 km at 6 %, with maximums of 14%), Puerto de Benifallim (9 km at 5%, and maximums of 13%) and Puerto de la Carrasqueta (10 km at 4.9%) before Xorret de Catí.
At the beginning of the day the protagonist was Oier Lazkano, who led a massive breakaway that he himself selected. Rui Costa, Caruso and Costa accompanied him to the foot of the last port, where the peloton left them with no options.
From the beginning of the ascent, Soudal took over from Jumbo at the head and Evenepoel soon took command. The only attack against him was carried out by Sepp Kuss, but the Belgian kept his cool to maintain a rhythm and end up catching him. Roglic, Vingegaard, Mas, Ayuso, Soler and Almeida remained in the group. But nobody dared to attack before the speed imposed by Evenepoel, who could not finish off the job with a victory. It's all good news for Jumbo, who dresses Kuss in red, a gregarious of the luxury for the moment converted into a leader, after Lenny Martínez's bad day.
