Evenepoel wins the Tour of Spain, the youngest to do so since 1961

It was a Vuelta in which the plains of Holland gave a welcome, in which Enric Mas appeared driving the Movistar bus, a smile on his face, a guaranteed mental recovery.

A round that explained that Bennett (Bora) was the fastest until he unhorsed the covid and Pedersen (Trek) refuted the arguments, winner of three stages.

Like Carapaz (Ineos), a cyclist with strong emotions, discounted for the general classification but not for the show.

The same as the revelation Vine (Alpecin), which is here to stay from virtual racing.

There were, at last, triumphs for the Spaniards after 121 days of drought in the big ones —Soler (UAE) and Herrada (Cofidis)—, in addition to walls like Les Praeres that pushed the runners to the limit,

bathing Meintjes (Intermarché) in the river or asking Ayuso (UAE) to be lowered by car down a 300-meter slope.

A Vuelta, too, plagued by misfortunes due to the resurgence of the pandemic in the peloton and by bumps, none like that of Roglic, the only one to threaten the reliability of the

before asking to be discharged due to bruises.

And, of course, it was the Vuelta that crowned Quick-Step and its leader Remco Evenepoel (Aalst, Belgium; 22 years old), scorching in the first week, suffering in the second and controlling in the last.

In the peloton they did not know how Evenepoel would respond, since he had only participated in a big one —Giro from the previous year, when he fell— without finishing it.

“It is the great unknown”, acknowledged his sports director Koen Pelgrim.

“Remco did extraordinary things, like in the San Sebastián classic, when he attacked from 40 kilometers and was able to put four minutes into the group.

They are exhibitions that are not seen.

But in this Vuelta he has shown that he wins in time trials, in high-altitude finishes… It will mark an era”, recognizes Juanjo Oroz, sports director of Kern Pharma.

"It was clear that he was a different rider and now he has made it clear that we will continue to see him in the next few years in the grand tours," adds Michel Cornelisse from Alpecin.

“From the beginning we thought that he would be the rival to beat, although we doubted if he would last until the end against Roglic.

We can only congratulate him”, they point out from Jumbo.

“He hasn't had a bad time in the last few days and he has surprised us a bit.

He has managed the race very well.

He is strong, effective and the ideal runner for modern cycling”, concludes Chente García Acosta, director of Movistar.

And that is, everyone agrees, because he has matured.

Although it is something generational because the children have grown up;

the average age on the podium is 23 years and 163 days (Remco 22, Mas 27 and Ayuso 19), the youngest record since 1935. “What they have done is impressive.

Also Almeida (UAE, 5th overall, 22 years old), Arensman (Ineos, 6th and 22) and Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos, 7th, 21).

They should not be treated as young people but as what they are, professionals”, resolves Matxin, director of the UAE.

"Something change.

There are many who are already at a very high level because they are more prepared”, adds Xabier Zandio, his counterpart from Ineos.

Although the best example is Evenepoel, the youngest winner of the Vuelta since Angelino Soler in 1961 at the age of 21.

“Remco used to be impulsive, explosive, putting on spectacular performances from afar.

Here he has run much more slowly”, says Juanma Gárate, director of EF.

“He had two difficult days and he solved them;

he has learned that you have to go through bad times and that he will not always win all the races, ”adds Matxin.

"He has handled situations very well both physically and mentally," Zandio intervenes.

“He has gone one step further in his performance and has shown his reliability to make an impeccable Vuelta”, adds Eusebio Unzué, manager of Movistar.

They also praise Quick-Step, a team that lost the double world champion Alaphilippe after rolling on the ground, the best gregarious.

“Maybe without Roglic and, therefore, without Jumbo in that battle, there was a lack of a team that would hurt them, but Quick-Step has done very well, especially with Cavagna to control breakaways”, Oroz resolves.

“But in the mountains they also responded, like in the Sierra Nevada, when they put runners in the breakaway.

They did it perfectly”, agrees Gárate.

"He has been seen only on a few occasions, they have defended themselves wonderfully," Zandio deepens.

And so, with a team behind him and his maturity, on the day that Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE) won the final sprint, Evenepoel won in Madrid.

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