Lefevere fears media pressure on Evenepoel: "I see the first symptoms of the 'hype' reappear"

Stage 14 sees the ascent to Sierra de la Pandera where much can change, but until now Remco Evenepoel has been in total control of the Vuelta a Espana. Patrick Lefevere worries that the flurry of media attention can once again put too much pressure in the young Belgian.

“In Belgium I see the first symptoms of the 'hype' reappear: interviews with the grandparents, great stories about the cherry drink he drinks after the finish. I fear an exodus of Belgian journalists to Spain," Lefevere said in his weekly Het Nieuwsblad column. "The typical questions start to come to me as well. Can he also become world champion this year? Will he ride the Tour next year? For the record: I don't know and if it depends on me not yet, no. But no one is looking that far ahead right now. Day by day, we will keep repeating it until Madrid".

For several years now, Evenepoel has been the target of extreme media attention, much of it directed towards his Grand Tour ambitions. At this Vuelta he is somewhat already proving his capacity to ride one at his best level, but his dominating set of performances so far have left few to question his climbing ability. However, as the race enters it's second and decisive half, Lefevere reports the attention increasing exponentially as the chances of Evenepoel winning the race look firmer.  

“Respect for the way Remco is currently dealing with all the media obligations associated with the red jersey. He takes his time, answers all questions in a relaxed manner. Very different from last year's Giro, but at the moment he is also ten times better in his own skin," Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team's manager added.

Much of the race is still left, however what Lefevere fears the most is Covid-19 within the team further. “A positive test from Remco is now the big doom scenario. We do everything we can to prevent that. After Pieter Serry's positive test, we let roommate Rémi Cavagna eat alone for four days in a row. Since then, all riders also sleep separately in the room, which they usually find annoying too," he described.