"I shed a lot of tears and had a lot of doubts" - Remco Evenepoel details heartbreaking day at Vuelta a Espana

Stage 13 of the Vuelta a Espana was a brutal day for Remco Evenepoel. Tank empty, the Belgian dropped out of GC contention without the pace in the peloton even being sharp, and had to endure a day in the mountains where the emotions were high throughout several hours.

“It was a complete off day. Maybe the fatigue built up after a long season of working hard to achieve my goals. I was away for three months for the Giro, the same amount of time for this Vuelta," Evenepoel told Sporza. "Maybe that took its toll yesterday. My resting pulse is also higher than normal. Maybe my recovery is less than during the first week or something is brewing.”

Fatigue could've been the reason, the time-trial World Champion was not the only GC rider suffering meaningfully yesterday but was the biggest casualty. He was dropped early in the day at the Col d'Aubisque, and after some kilometers of collective chasing, Soudal - Quick-Step decided to pull the plug on the GC ambitions.

“Yesterday it was very difficult to find the motivation. I shed a lot of tears and had a lot of doubts," Evenepoel admits. After dropping out of the Giro d'Italia due to Covid-19, he has faced yet another huge blow to his 2023. "But fortunately I have good teammates, friends and family around me who keep motivating me.”

He made it to the end of the day and focuses on refocusing on different goals. It is difficult for a rider as Evenepoel to now be looking at the race outside of the overall classification, however there isn't an alternative.

“There are still plenty of opportunities to add another stage, for myself and the team. We're still going to go for it. I can't give up on the disappointment for the time being, because I really want to concentrate on the next eight stages. There could be an opportunity for breakaway every day. That is a new way of racing for me," he concludes.