Everything was going smoothly for leader Remco Evenepoel in this Vuelta 2022 until in the twelfth stage he had his first big scare. On a downhill stretch, with the escapees at eleven minutes and when the peloton was about 50 km from the finish line in Peñas Blancas, the Belgian went to the ground in a curve to the right. He did it alone, without touching any other runner. After a few moments of nervousness, and waited for a colleague, the red jersey was able to resume the march while checking and testing especially the right arm, to see that it had no major consequences.
With his shorts ripped, and some scratch on his right leg, He returned to a platoon that slowed down after the leader fell. After the abandonment of Alaphilippe a day beforeand Serry’s days ago due to COVID, the Belgian was left with five teammates, and it is Ilan van Wilder, Dries Devenyns and Fausto Masnada who support the leader the mostr. A priori fall without major consequences, but important scare for the leader and feeling that at any moment he can change the race in the smallest detail. It should be remembered that in Lombardia, in 2020 and also in a descent, the Belgian had a serious fall from which it took him months to recover. The mental aspect, in addition to the physical, is now key in La Vuelta after such an action.
