A sudden snowstorm forced Remco Evenepoel to cut short his altitude camp on Mount Teide, but the Belgian still made it to Girona in time for the Volta a Catalunya. What began as a routine training block quickly turned chaotic, according to a report in Wielerflits. In fact, many were wondering if he’d even make it off the island and back to the mainland in time for the start of the Volta a Catalunya

There was some heavy snowfall and icy roads trapping him on the volcano for two days. It sounded like a typical Canadian winter day, tbh, except there’s a volcano nearby.

At one point, missing the race became a real possibility. Although, according to the Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe rider, it wasn’t quite as sketchy as folks were saying. Still, he had to wait until authorities escorted him safely down the mountain.

From the island to the mainland

“In the end, it wasn’t that bad,” the double Olympic champ said. According to the Belgian, only a short stretch of the descent was actually dangerous before conditions improved.

Michael Leonard on getting settled into EF Education-EasyPost

Still, the situation caused plenty of stress behind the scenes, especially for staff scrambling to pack and reorganize. There were even rumours of a Red Bull chopper that would come and rescue him and bring him back off the Canaries in time.

“I tried to stay calm… the big work of this altitude training camp had already been done,” he said.

There’s plenty of sunshine in store for the riders in the 7-day stage race. Evenepoel has shown great form this year, apart from suffering on some of key climbs at the UAE Tour, where he would ultimately finish tenth. “The freshness has returned,” he said after his mini camp.

He’ll face some big names this week, including Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and national champ, Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek.)

Without a time trial, the climbs will decide everything. “I hope to stay as close to Vingegaard as possible.”

And there are plenty of ascents at Catalunya. There are some tough stages ahead featuring Vallter 2000, Coll de Pal, plus the lumpy final weekend in the Montjuïc circuit are expected to shape the GC.

Three other Canucks join Gee-West. EF Education – EasyPost’s Michael Leonard–who is in great shape already this year. Victoria’s Riley Pickrell, on his new American team, Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, will be there, along with Pier-André Côté (NSN Cycling).

Day 1 is around Sant Feliu de Guíxols for a total 172.7km, with a nasty climb midway. Check back here on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report, or tune into FloBikes.com starting at 10:10 a.m. EDT. Happy Monday!

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