Roglic and Evenepoel do not party even in the first stage of the Volta

Roglic wins the 'sprint' of the first stage of the Volta over Evenepoel. JOSEP LAGO (AFP)

Sant Feliu de Guíxols woke up with the sea calm and without chopping, seagulls fluttering over the coast, a haven of peace that explained that for one day the bravery would occur on the road.

Nobody like Roglic and Evenepoel, the two strongest roosters in the Volta corral, cyclists who don't understand days off even by mistake.

Pointed out as the great favorites for the final victory, both expressed that they are not in Catalonia passing through, sensational in the

final, first the Slovenian from Jumbo-Visma and second the Belgian from Quick-Step.

A romantic and poetic aperitif to whet your appetite, now that there are three mountain stages and a week with curves to go.

“It has been unexpected.

The boys have done a great job”, summed up Roglic after winning.

But it wasn't so surprising because he's already won three stages and the Tirreno general in the previous week, four career victories.

And Sant Feliu de Guíxols, the scene where in the previous course he gave ex-cyclist Sonny Colbrelli a cardiac arrest, he stood up.

Although working, it was a day of celebration and joy in the seaside town, where fans crowded around the buses before the team parade began.

Everyone had their share of prominence, but the applause and cheers were concentrated on Roglic and an Evenepoel who could barely walk between autographs and

.

But the ten Catalans participating in the Volta -the highest participation since 1990- were also highlighted, such as Pau Miquel (Kern Pharma): "If I could choose two races to win, it would be the World Cup and the Volta", resolved the cyclist, who was next to his family and that he pointed out that on Thursday, in Sabadell, near his Sant Quirze del Vallès, he wanted to be in the getaway group.

But he did not wait;

because he, along with four other riders —Rune Herregodts (Intermarché), Oscar Onley (DSM), Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) and Alessandro de Marchi (Jayco)— were the first to set up the break.

The peloton was led by Cofidis, who had marked the stage in red because Coquard was the great favorite —mainly because in the Volta, always with a winding and steep route, there are hardly any sprinters—, the distance with the breakaways

always controlled, with a maximum of four minutes and all swallowed with six kilometers to go.

Little did the always feisty Bol care, who donned the red mountain jersey after overcoming the heights of Santa Pellaia, Los Ángeles, Ganga and Romanyà.

Moment in which the race was electrified and tensed the peloton.

So much, so much, that with five kilometers to go there was a collective bump —the worst unemployed were Cataldo (Trek), Christopher Hamilton (DSM) and Anthony Delaplace (Arkéa), who were taken to the hospital— that split the multicolored snake in two .

A situation that Jumbo and Quick-Step did not miss out on, concerned with positioning their leaders in front so that they did not lose points and avoid possible entanglements.

But Roglic wanted more, powerful like few others in his start and

, only bothered by an Evenepoel who, from behind, his motorbike, disputed the victory until the end.

Enraged, the Belgian hit the bike for second place, then sporty and with a smile on his face as he shook hands with his rival.

The one he beat in the Vuelta —Roglic retired due to a fall—;

the one with whom, presumably, he will meet again in the next stages.

Dario Cataldo suffers multiple fractures from the fall

Dario Cataldo was the worst off cyclist in the fall of the first stage of the Volta.

A scan of the Italian cyclist revealed a fracture of the head of the left femur and hip joint, two fractures in the lower back of the spine, another in the clavicle and multiple broken ribs in addition to a lung contusion and pneumothorax.

The cyclist is conscious and hemodynamically stable and will be transferred to another hospital in Catalonia.

After a second evaluation at the new hospital, he will undergo surgery to fix the femur fracture.

VOLTA CLASSIFICATION

STAGE

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).

3h48m17s

2. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step).

mt.

3. Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe).

mt

4. Maxim Van Gils (Lotto).

mt.

5. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo).

mt.

6. Ethan Hayter (Ineos).

mt.

7. Dorian Godon (Ag2r).

mt.

8. Ilan Van Wilder (Quick-Step).

mt.

9. Milan Menten (Lotto).

mt.

10. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis).

mt.

GENERAL

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).

3h48m17s

2. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step), 4s away.

3. Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe), 6s.

4. Maxim Van Gils (Lotto).

mt.

5. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo).

mt.

6. Ethan Hayter (Ineos).

mt.

7. Dorian Godon (Ag2r).

mt.

8. Ilan Van Wilder (Quick-Step).

mt.

9. Milan Menten (Lotto).

mt.

10. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis).

mt.

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