"Maybe if I had been at his wheel he would have been able to win" - Remco Evenepoel frustrated after being beaten by Roglic at Volta a Catalunya sprint

Remco Evenepoel came close to victory in the first stage of the Volta a Catalunya with a long straight to the finish line with a 5% gradient. The young Belgian did not situate himself well for the final finish and saw how Primoz Roglic started the sprint long before him. By little, but he could not overcome him.

Thus, after the race, he regretted the second place and, without wanting to make excuses, explained that if he had been in a better position, maybe he could have beaten the Slovenian from Jumbo-Visma. "I had the legs to try, why not, try to win a stage, second again in a sprint, it was the first time I faced Primoz in one, I think we had even strength," he told reporters at the finish.

"But I had to sprint from a long way away, although after the race it's very easy to find an excuse. Maybe if I had been at his wheel he would have been able to win, but in the end it was another victory for him," he continues. Soudal - Quick-Step were aware of the dangers in the finale, spending many bullets to keep the World Champion in the front and away from the crashes that were feared - and became reality.

Despite not winning the stage he took 6 seconds on most of his competition. Facing the week that awaits him in the Volta a Catalunya, Remco Evenepoel explained that his legs have felt very good after the hard training carried out in Tenerife and that he is positive about what is to come.

"It was hard at the beginning, I felt all the hard work, all the training on the legs, but when the race got tougher is when I started to feel better, so it's a good sign for the week ahead, it's a shame. finishing second today, but that's life," Evenepoel concluded. Tomorrow's stage 2 to Vallter 2000 will be a great test for his form, and should be an equally dramatic finale.