"I just think he’d be a lot more successful" - Adam Blythe believes Remco Evenepoel would be better suited hunting stages rather than GC at future Grand Tours

Remco Evenepoel saw his ambitions of taking a second Red Jersey at the Vuelta a Espana go up in smoke courtesy of a dramatic collapse on stage 13. The Belgian bounced back in style on stage 14, taking a stage win and Adam Blythe believes that could be his future role.

"He could be absolutely successful if he targeted stages. I just think he’d be a lot more successful in terms of that pressure," said the Brit on Eurosport's The Breakaway as part of the channel's coverage of the 2023 Vuelta a Espana following Evenepoel's stage win.

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“I feel like that pressure is so much for a Grand Tour that he’s done it once, but this is a proper field that he’s up against and it’s the second time… he was dropped earlier on in the race and he limited that loss, and that was very early on," Blythe explains, referencing the complete explosion Evenepoel suffered. “And then he was dropped yesterday and took a load of time out. Yes, he’s bounced back today, but how many times could he do this in a Grand Tour where he said one day in a big mountain stage, ‘Right, I’m going to lose loads of time today, tomorrow’s another big mountain day and I’m going to light it up'?”

Blythe's colleague, Daniel Lloyd however, isn't convinced. “There is absolutely no doubt if he went to any race saying: ‘I’m just here for stage wins’, he’d probably pick up quite a few, but of course at this point of his career he’s won a Grand Tour, he’s still 23,” Lloyd answers. “He’s got to go to the Tour de France next year with the ambition of winning it because if he can string together 100% Remco for 21 stages in a row there’s no reason he can’t be up there with the best in the world.”

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