Remco Evenepoel will target stage wins over general classification at La Vuelta 2022 – Alberto Contador

Updated 18/08/2022 at 13:11 GMT

Remco Evenepoel may only be 22 and untested across a full three weeks, but that hasn’t stopped some backing him for a GC push at La Vuelta. Not Alberto Contador, however, who maintains that the Belgian will be happy hunting stage victories in Spain. Contador believes Primoz Roglic is favourite to win a fourth straight crown, with Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz as his closest rivals.

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Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) will not fight for the general classification at La Vuelta, according to Eurosport expert Alberto Contador.

Evenepoel is second favourite with the bookies despite having never finished a three-week race, with his Giro d’Italia debut last year unravelling spectacularly in the final week before he abandoned.

However, team boss Patrick Lefevere says the Belgian will be a different proposition in Spain, given he returned from a nine-month injury layoff at the Giro.

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Evenepoel has shown impressive form this season, having won Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Tour of Norway and Clasica San Sebastian, and is included in a fearsome Quick-Step team alongside Julian Alaphilippe.

But Contador believes Evenepoel will be more interested in stage wins, rather than worrying about the overall crown.

“Remco, despite being one of the best riders at the moment, is more focused on winning specific stages than fighting for the general classification,” said the seven-time Grand Tour winner.

“In the future he might change that preference, but for now his speciality is fighting for stages.”

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Contador continued that Evenepoel’s performance at the Vuelta would give an indication as to whether he could challenge Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) at the Tour de France in the future.

“It is precisely this race that will give us the answer to these kinds of questions,” he added.

“Remco is not as much of a specialist as Pogacar and Vingegaard but he has more than enough skills to know how far he can go in situations that are not ideal for his racing style.”

Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) is the overwhelming favourite to win a fourth consecutive crown, although he is an unknown quantity having not raced since leaving the Tour de France before Stage 15.

Contador fancies the Slovenian to make good on his billing, adding that he was excited to see Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) and Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco).

“Without any doubt the favourite is Roglic,” said Contador.

“Carapaz and Yates are the two main rivals who will be fighting until the end alongside Primoz. Yates knows what it's like to win this race and Carapaz has been very close and that experience is key.”

The Vuelta begins in the Dutch city of Utrecht on Friday.

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Stream La Vuelta live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.

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