Remco Evenepoel signed his third victory in the Clásica de San Sebastián, the race he “loves” although to equal Marino Lejarreta's record he had to work hard until the end. The Belgian cyclist, world champion, has defeated Peio Bilbao in the final sprint, the only rider in the peloton capable of holding up to Evenepoel on the tough track of more than 230 kilometers that has ended on the Boulevard of the Gipuzkoan capital.

Evenopoel has not managed to repeat the two getaways with which it surprised in 2019 and amazed in 2020 as its house brand in San Sebastián. In his career, where he feels the support of the public and is known to be a favourite, Evenepoel decided to make a selection from a heterogeneous peloton with dozens of cyclists with the best form of the Tour de France.

Evenepoel arrived in San Sebastián after competing in the Belgian championship and the Tour of Switzerland in June after leaving the Giro d'Italia due to Covid when he was leading it. But the Soudal cyclist has once again demonstrated the balance between a preparation focused on the Tour of Spain on August 26 and the preliminary examination of the Glasgow World Cup where he aspires to repeat the World Championship.

Without the explosiveness of the two previous victories in San Sebastián, Evenopoel has generated a team with Peio Bilbao and Alexander Vlasov (Bora) who have faced the last 40 kilometers of the race as a group. But Vlasov has not managed to stay at the wheel of the Soudal cyclist in the second and last climb to Murgil, the 2.1-kilometre slope with a section at 19%. Bilbao, aware of the difficulties of the Russian runner, has come to pair up with Evenepoel in the last section of a climb full of fans.

“On the climb they encouraged Peio more than me,” Evenepoel acknowledged with a smile already at the finish line. The Belgian had already forgotten the discomfort in his wrist in a fall during the neutralized route that came to alarm the fans. Supporters who, with their cheering cries, redoubled the resistance of Peio Bilbao in Murgil to the pace of the Evenepoel climb and opened the door to surprise during the last three kilometers of wandering along the bay of La Concha. But the classic man from Soudal, in the process of converting to a grand tour cyclist, has adjusted the boas of his white shoes to compete in a tense and long final sprint with a magnificent Bilbao. Vlasov, Powles and Ion Izagirre crossed the finish line ahead of the peloton.