"I was really afraid of failure" - Evenepoel's teammate describes final Vuelta a Espana mountain showdown

Remco Evenepoel has had an outstanding season, and his most impressive achievement may very well have been his Vuelta a Espana win, the first Grand Tour he completed, despite the intense pressure from the outside. Two of his teammates have talked about the stress of the final days of the race.

In an interview with Wielerrevue, Ilan van Wilder said that “that day there was a big contrast with the rest of the stages. Before that ride it was very quiet in the bus and you could feel the stress." Evenepoel eventually sustained it, but for the second half of the race was under the pressure of attacks from Primoz Roglic and Enric Mas, but most importantly of himself, as there was no knowing when and if Evenepoel would struggle in the final week of the race.

Louis Vervaeke described that “before that last mountain stage I had a lot of stress. I was really afraid of failure that I wouldn't be at the appointment. That Mas would attack us and that Remco would be isolated. There was a lot at stake and I have to admit I was really nervous that ride.”

That day Evenepoel resisted the attacks of Enric Mas to seemingly comfortably hold on to the red jersey. It was the day where the weight came off the Belgian team's shoulders, and where Evenepoel fully proved to be a Grand Tour rider. "You also noticed the discharge after the finish. A brick seemed to have fallen from our shoulders."

"Remco said afterwards that he was very nervous, but I had to say that I did not experience it that way. To be honest, I didn't notice any stress with him. He still put on his loud music, like he does every day," van Wilder revealed.

“What strikes me is that those guys just really like the game. You certainly had that feeling with Mathieu [van der Poel]. Also in training it was not about numbers or blocks, but about hurting each other. What amazes me, above all, is how calm these guys remain under pressure. You should not underestimate how much pressure is put on them. It makes a big difference how they deal with that," he concluded.