Remco Evenepoel falls but remains Vuelta leader

Remco Evenepoel’s words

It could have ended much worse for Remco Evenepoel on stage 12 of the Vuelta a España 2022.

The general classification leader with 50 km to go fell on a downhill section, but got away with a few bruises. Nothing serious, as he immediately demonstrated by managing the situation on the final climb. Rivals for the red jersey were unable to break away from him, and the Belgian maintained his large lead in the general classification.

“No problem when the others accelerated, I felt good. Too bad about the crash but it was a slippery spot and it can happen. I sprinted at the end because I felt I still had energy. We controlled for three quarters of the race without any problems. Even on the climb I had two companions: they were excellent. There is some injury from the fall, but I hope to recover without any major problems ahead of Friday.”