At times it seemed to remind us of that famous Torrelavega time trial in 2018, the one that Enric is always reminded of before each test of this type in a Grand Tour. The Balearic, despite not shining like on that occasion, achieved a good performance in Alicante and finished 10th, 1:51 behind Remco Evenepoel. The Spaniard, in addition, gives up second place in the general classification to the detriment of Roglic, with whom he lost 1:03. “Happy, we didn’t do a very bad time. Evenepoel flew, confirming that he is very well, very strong”, says Enric, who used the phrase he has been saying since the race started in Utrecht: “Day by day”.
The one from Movistar acknowledges that the end “cost a bit” but he is “satisfied” with the performance on terrain like this: “It was a time trial for specialists in the modality. There was hardly any unevenness or hardness. They beat us,” he adds. Now he occupies the third place on the podium, 19 seconds behind Roglic, ahead of him, and at 3:03 of a Remco that does not lower the bar. “We are going to keep trying”, concludes a tired Enric.
Rodríguez: “It’s a very good result”
Carlos Rodriguez, best Spaniard in the stage by finishing in fourth position, he was very happy with his performance: “I had very good feelings. I was conservative with the watts to follow, but I think it went well for me, ”says the Ineos man. Coming within half a minute of Roglic is a very good result, I’m happy. Being close to an Olympic champion is a source of pride. I have to be focused on doing my best and enjoying this experience.” He is now fourth overall, 3:55 behind Evenepoel. On his part, Juan Ayuso gave up time and dropped to sixth place overall. It was not a good night before the time trial: “I got up badly, especially with my head, and I thought I had COVID. I took three tests and they all came back negative,” says the 19-year-old from Alicante.
