The Belgian champion (Soudal-QuickStep) attacked right from kilometre zero on the flat opening phase of racing and was able to see off the only man that could follow him on his assault of the 156.2km parcours, Romain Bardet (DSM–Firmenich), with just under 4km remaining.
He crossed the line atop the Puerto de Belagua solo 1:10 ahead of Bardet and the tears immediately poured out of the world champion as he bounced back from the disappointment of losing 27 minutes on Stage 13.
There were tears for much of Friday evening for Evenepoel as he couldn't perform at the level he'd hoped, but one day on he showed what a true champion he is, bouncing back immediately.
Evenepoel's breakaway companion also shared an embrace with him after the finish as another rider that knows what it feels like to have the GC hopes of a nation on your shoulders, and the sometimes overwhelming pressure that comes with it.
Jumbo-Visma maintained their dominant control on all three podium spots of the GC as the race behind Evenepoel and Bardet fizzled out following a few unsuccessful attacks by Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) on the hardest climb of the day, the Puerto de Larrau.
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‘What a comeback’ - Evenepoel’s win on Stage 14 of Vuelta draws praise from Breakaway team
Evenepoel was one of the first attackers of the day, showing his clear intentions and letting everyone know that Fridday was just a bad day, a blip, and no sign of his overall shape.
Initially the break struggled to form with a lot of teams interested given how far ahead Jumbo-Visma were in the overall, as this would make them less inclined to chase down a huge group.
The separation finally came in the form of a 24-rider group containing Evenepoel, Bardet, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) and Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos Grenadiers) as the strongest climbers.
Jumbo-Visma seemed prepared to let them gain a huge margin, before UAE Team Emirates took up the mantle of chasing and kept them on a four-minute leash.
They would continue to make inroads for Ayuso ‘s GC ambitions until Evenepoel accelerated in pursuit of the maximum KOM points haul atop the Col Hourcere. He claimed all of them with only Bardet able to follow.
With Bardet’s descending acumen, the duo extended their lead back out past four minutes, exchanging well and sharing the workload - and a drink from a spectator - leaving the remaining escapees in no man’s land.
Storer tried to bridge the gap but found no success and once Ayuso had tried to make an attack on the 15% slopes of the Puerto de Larrau that was quickly marked by the Jumbo-Visma trio of climbing superstars, it was clear we would have a two-horse race for the victory.
Atop the Larrau, Evenepoel also moved into the virtual lead of the KOM jersey and stated at the finish that alongside stage wins, it would be a nice goal to chase given how he’s out of the fight for the overall victory.
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Evenepoel could be 'more successful' targeting stage wins over general classification - Blythe
With the final climb looming and Bardet sitting in his wheel, Evenepoel looked as focused as possible for the task in hand and he stayed on the front to set the pace he wanted.
Once they were over halfway up the Puerto de Belagua, Evenepoel upped the tempo and saw Bardet begin to struggle, prompting a second and fatal acceleration for the experienced Frenchman who was unable to respond.
It was clear he was going to win and as he crossed the line he simply opened his arms wide and took in his second stage victory of this year’s Vuelta, immediately breaking down into tears as he reached his soigneur after the finish.
“Yesterday was a very difficult day, also the evening. I couldn’t sleep too much, had a very bad night, a lot of negative thoughts in my head and today I woke up and I thought just go for it, make the best of it," said Evenepoel on Eurosport/GCN+.
Behind Bahrain Victorious set the pace to try and advance Mikel Landa’s position on GC as Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) had struggled earlier in the day, but the main GC group would all cross the line together except for David de la Cruz (Astana Qazaqstan) who gained a single second after a late attack.
The second week of racing at the Vuelta concludes on Sunday with Stage 15 on a 158.3km stage starting in Pamplona and finishing in Lekunberri across a hilly parcours that looks perfect for a breakaway.
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September 10, 2023 at 01:06AM
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Vuelta a Espana 2023: Remco Evenepoel roars back from GC disappointment with dominant Stage 14 victory - Eurosport COM
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