"I think he has that experience now" - Koen de Kort believes more mature Evenepoel can compete with Roglic & Vingegaard

Remco Evenepoel will be back at the Vuelta a Espana this weekend, looking to defend the title he won last year when he claimed his first career Grand Tour. Ex-pro Koen de Kort believes the maturity Evenepoel has gained over the past twelve months will stand him in good stead.

The list of participants at the Vuelta a Espana this year is arguably as good as any edition of the race's long and storied history. The likes of Geraint Thomas, Joao Almeida, Juan Ayuso and Enric Mas will all have goals of taking the Red Jersey from Evenepoel. The Soudal - Quick-Step leader's biggest challenge though is likely to come from Jumbo-Visma duo Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard.

“Evenepoel used to be able to run wild, but he now has a lot of confidence in himself," says former Trek-Segafredo rider de Kort on Eurosport's pre-Vuelta podcast, Kop over kop. "He also has to rely mainly on himself. I think he has that experience now.”

“It is true that Evenepoel is much more mature. But he still had to acknowledge his superior in Roglic in Catalonia," adds Jeroen Vanbelleghem. "I think Evenepoel was the better one, but he lost that round. Beaten purely on experience by Roglic... I see something similar happening in the Vuelta.”