Evenepoel destroys the Vuelta in Les Praeres, where Ayuso and Rodríguez light the flame of Spanish cycling

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As they wait for the day he fails,

continues to pedal towards his first

crown .

-old Belgian

, exultantly young like almost all the new kings of world cycling, destroyed the rest of the favorites on the

and took a bite out of the general classification of the Spanish edition.

The South African

won , the strongest of the breakaway, but the Spanish trio formed by

knelt, with honor and pride, before an

who pocketed more than half a minute on his rivals.

It was the second and last stage in Asturias, a territory that the forecasts said could decide the Vuelta.

Exhausting for the cyclists, the asphalt of the north has complied and has tilted the balance of the red jersey towards the Belgian cyclist, who on Tuesday, after a day of rest, will have the opportunity to

, in which He is top favourite.

Because this is how this current cycling in which

, capable of winning in a sprint, in the high mountains or against the clock.

Nothing stops them.

After the suffering experienced yesterday with the finish in the unprecedented

, today the peloton covered the 171.4 kilometers and the five ports that separated Villaviciosa from Nava.

(

7.6 km at 6%),

(9 km at 6% and areas bordering on 10%),

(7.1 km at 5.1%) and

(9.3 km at 4.1%) before reaching the

wall , located in the town of

, in the heart of the Peñamayor mountain range.

At his feet grew this short but explosive "

", as Miguel Ángel López warned at the start.

'Superman' was second in that premiere of the Asturian summit in 2018 and before trying again he reflected on the hell of asphalt, cobblestone and sand that is experienced in this final: "It has incredible hardness."

There were

.

An atrocity.

who made up the break of the day arrived at Les Praeres to play the stage

:

(Astana),

(Bahrain),

(Ineos),

(Intermarché),

(Lotto),

,

(Alpecin),

(Burgos) and

(Arkéa).

Some of the important riders in the peloton, such as

(double stage winner),

, unsuccessfully insisted on hooking up with them earlier in the day to try and improve on a so far disappointing performance, but were unable to do so.

The Ecuadorian, six minutes in the general classification, managed to distance himself a few meters, but was stopped by Evenepoel himself, who did not trust the South American's talent and the two weeks that still remain in the race.

At the beginning of the last ascent,

(under 23 world champion) and Janssens started with confidence, but

, veteran and better climber, caught up with them with a constant rhythm that ended up giving him the victory.

Behind and after a quiet stage for the peloton,

, Olympic champion and Evenepoel's teammate, began the hostilities with a sprint of several hundred meters that destroyed the group of favorites.

There were barely 20 units left when the Frenchman gave up the helm, just over two kilometers from the finish line.

Brave, Juan

selected the group even more, starting and taking

with him , the same as in

.

Behind,

struggled not to lose his wake.

On the hardest ramps, some 27%,

.

With the jersey open, the sunglasses on the helmet and the gaze fixed, he changed the pace.

He left Ayuso and Roglic behind at the time, and Mas, who managed to stay on the wheel for a few meters, ended up giving up.

The Belgian exhibited himself in the last kilometers with the conviction of winning the Vuelta.

The organization gave him at times a minute's lead over Mas, Ayuso and Carlos Rodríguez, who managed to connect with his compatriots, leaving a special image for Spanish cycling.

, who speaks more of the present than of the future.

They are already here.

At the finish line, Evenepoel ended up taking a

lead over Ayuso, who broke his teammates in the final meters, and

.

Roglic, in full suffering, gave up more than a minute in the red jersey.

The Vuelta now stops to travel to Alicante in the middle of the Monday off, with Evenepoel happy to see the minute and twelve seconds that separate him from Mas, who under normal conditions should take more than 60 seconds in Tuesday's time trial.

, while the illusion for Spanish cycling is kept by the fourth and fifth places of Ayuso and Rodríguez, both two and a half minutes behind the Belgian.

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