Remco Evenepoel could be about to end Belgium's 44-year wait for a Grand Tour win and while his home nation is gripped by Vuelta fever, he is urging calm and says he has been trying to ignore the growing media circus around his performances.
He has also said Enri Mas (Movistar) was stronger than Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) at times over the weekend and that Movistar's need to score points via Mas and avoid relegation may play out in La Vuelta's final week to come; a race he leads.
“My only job is to follow him. That's the big goal," Evenepoel said of Roglič. "I think the fight for second place is more open. The difference between Mas and Roglic is only 25 seconds.
"Movistar needs the points in the battle to keep the World Tour license and in terms of UCI points there is a lot of difference between a second and a third place. The next six days there is not only Primoz Roglic. Lopez was also very strong this weekend.”
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Some weekly Belgian sports shows on TV have switched to daily coverage in a bid not to miss any of the young Belgian's exploits. But the man at the centre of the storm has said he is trying to take things day by day and has urged people back home to do the same, urging them to stay calm.
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"I don't have time to watch television," he said when asked about the added interest. "I probably don't care what's happening on TV either. Of course it is very nice that the success that we have already had here with the team is getting some attention.
"It's kind of special that things like this happen. It really gives me another boost to keep pedaling and keep going for that red jersey. But on the other hand, I hope everyone stays calm. Be positive, yes, but we still have six race days to go. And they are not easy at all.
"Okay, it's not the toughest mountains anymore, but the fatigue, the heat, the duration of the Vuelta will start to play into it. We will fight for it. With a lead of 1'34”, I'm still fairly comfortable in that red, but it's not over yet. We will know the outcome on Saturday evening or Sunday.”
Evenepoel is well used to intense media interest, with his junior world title wins in the road race and TT in 2018 in Austria only serving to confirm the hype around him. The following year he turned pro for Deceuninck-QuickStep and has been a superstar since. He says the fact he has handled that pressure for a number of years is helping him now as he leads La Vuelta.
“I am not the only one who suffers from this," he said of the media attention. "But the older you get, the more experienced. Obviously it was difficult to deal with that at the beginning of my career as a pro. I was used to dominating the junior category, but then I got to the big boys and that's another level.
"Year after year I coped better. Especially after my crash in the Tour of Lombardy in August 2020, I learned a lot. That is the main reason why I now stay calm in the stressful situations I now find myself in on a daily basis.”
