Remco Evenepoel looks at his hand, feels his scratched thigh and listens to his torn knee, solemn and authoritarian on the top of Peñas Blancas, the forest burned at his feet and the Vuelta gagged by its hegemony. He fell an hour ago on the Marbella ring road, but he does not let out a complaint, nor does he falter in the long port, another test of solvency that the young Belgian prodigy passes at the command of the group of notables, who he does not allow to squeeze him at the finish line . There he has been waiting for Richard Carapaz for a while. Now that he is fired from the fight for the general, the Ecuadorian has released his rage, a cyclist who always expresses himself with courage, and has built an extraordinary victory on the balcony of Estepona. Cyclists weave their strategies with calculator in hand. Richard Carapaz is the Olympic champion, a Giro winner, and a star signing from Ineos three years ago in the spirit of him capturing all the talent in pounds. The Ecuadorian, second in the last Giro, had appeared in the Vuelta with the candidate’s rosette, a long-distance cyclist with an undoubted punch in the mountains. A few days ago he disengaged from the Vuelta, he left distance in the general with Evenepoel and his wagon and he got a position of advantage. Nobody was going to be interested in him if he went on the run. The massive getaway is made up of 32 pieces, one of those calls to remember that can enter the anecdote of cycling adventures. There are qualified applicants to face the single port day, a Tour-style summit, 19 kilometers, average 7 percent, more than 40 minutes of ascent, long wind. The real ports. The Bora works for a solid cyclist without great offerings to his service record, Wilco Keldermann, and the Alpecin always moves insolently for Jay Vine, the two-stage winner who beat everyone on the virtual bike. That’s where Marc Soler sails, in form and diesel rhythm appropriate for the port. But in reality the top invokes Richard Carapaz, his bursts of self-esteem that have elevated him as a colossal auctioneer. The South American understands that he has one chance, no more, to debut in the Vuelta. And in that fire of all or nothing, he charges all the batteries to unseat his opponents. In the flash there is no trace of Vine, Soler or Keldermann. “I have felt an accumulation of many things when entering the finish line, anger, and above all happiness -says the Ecuadorian-. And also the fact of having been able to find my best feelings». A hit on the handlebar with no enemies in sight sums up the spirit of this rider, who next year will defend Education First, as he has already announced. A few kilometers further back, Remco Evenepoel fell when he slid into a curve. The leader displays a poise unbecoming of his 22-year-old self. He calmly waits for a new bike, while the image shows the aftermath of pain: the destroyed shorts, the black knee in a mixture of blood, oil and dust, the bruised thigh. He is not flustered or exhibits despair. He grabs a new bike, hangs out with his buddies, and just bothers with the bare palm of his right hand. There is pain. And without gloves, according to the fashions in use in the platoon. “Tomorrow I’ll put them on,” he warns. In the port Evenepoel stands strong with the same determination. Jumbo’s push is useless in favor of a Roglic who does not stick his head out. Neither his team is the perfect Tour machine with Van Aert, Vingegaard or Kuss, nor is he at the level with which he overwhelmed in the last three laps. He gives up the Jumbo and the Movistar shows up, unhooking cyclists from the escape (Oliveira, Rojas). The red jersey has no teammates by his side, but he does not raise an eyebrow when Verona and Movistar with Enric Mas try to intimidate him. He accepts the loneliness and doesn’t turn his head when he speeds up and lines up the train. “I don’t know what happened to my back in the last two kilometers,” he says. They look at his number Enric Mas, Roglic, Carlos Rodríguez (who attacks without fear), Juan Ayuso and a guest for the second week, the Colombian ‘Supermán’ López. Evenepoel stretches his head, forgets the pain and lands at the finish line without interference. The leader does not change the color or the falls or the attacks of the enemies.