The young Belgian tops a general classification for the fourth time this season.
24-May-2022: Remco Evenepoel returned to competition for the first time since becoming the youngest winner of Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the last 54 years, and did it with a bang, capturing the victory on the opening day of the Tour of Norway, and with it, the leader’s jersey – which a Belgian rider has never worn until today.
Starting from Bergen, the site of the 2017 World Championships, the route took the riders over a rolling 174km course to Voss, where a 2.1km climb averaging 8.4% awaited the peloton, who made sure of bringing back the escapees before hitting the short hill, thanks in part to a massive effort from teammates Ethan Vernon and Josef Cerny.
With 300 meters to go, Evenepoel accelerated out of the saddle – a perfectly timed move which saw him plug away and hold off a late counterattack of Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X) for his fifth win since the start of the year and Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s 23rd, one which put the Wolfpack at the top of the team victory classification.
“It was a cold and hard day. We had some low temperatures, rain, and even some wind, but the guys controlled the race perfectly and played a big part in my success. I am happy to return to competition with a victory and delighted that I had the legs to kick out and make the difference when it mattered. It’s always great to start a race like this, especially when I think this is the first time that I won an uphill sprint. We know it won’t be easy, but we’ll try to defend the orange jersey in the coming days”, said Remco after his 27th pro win.
